Impact of the Punk Movement on Fashion During the 20th Century

FIGURE 1: 1

PUNK

A DISCUSSION AND DEBATE SURROUNDING THE IMPACT OF THE PUNK MOVEMENT ON FASHION DURING THE 20TH CENTURY

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CONTENTS INTRODUCTION METHODOLOGY CHAPTER 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4

1: UNIFORM MAKE AND MEND FETISH AND BONDAGE BODY MODIFICATION ANALYSIS

CHAPTER 2: INFLUENCERS 2.1 WESTWOOD AND MCLAREN 2.2 CONTROVERSY 2.3 ANALYSIS

CHAPTER 3: MUSIC 3.1 SEX PISTOLS 3.2 ANALYSIS CONCLUSION

REFERENCES FIGURES

Words: 2500

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FIGURE 2:

FIGURE 3: 4

INTRODUCTION This essay focusses on the debate and discussion

of

the

controversial

punk

movement during the 20th century. By using a range of sources, the key concepts the essay centres around are key pieces and accessories which determine punk style, the main influencers of the style, such as

“actively [operate] against the grain of

Vivienne Westwood and Malcom Mclaren,

hegemonic mainstream culture” (Hebdige,

and music such as the sex pistols.

1979, cited in Sabin, 1999, page 19). In

According to O’Hara, there are multiple

addition to Christgau, who theorises that

definitions of punk. A “youth trend”. A “gut

Punk was “a subculture that scornfully

rebellion and change”. A “formidable voice

rejected

of opposition” (O’Hara, 1999). Punk “was

Californian flower-power silliness of the

born out of a very specific political situation

hippy myth” (Christgau 1976, cited in

in 1970s Britain” (reference). The recession

McBride 2016). This reflects the ‘Dada’ Art

during the early to mid 1970s brought

Movement where it “gained notoriety in

“political strife”, creating a darker mood for

France shortly after World War I for

the

of

vigorously rejecting all previous existing

optimism and freedom from the 60s, was

social and aesthetic values” (reference).

replaced

This, along with Hebdige’s theory mirrors

younger

by

generation.

depression

This

and

Hebdige theorises that subcultures

idea

anger.

the

political

idealism

and

the Punk culture through its attempt to remove conformity in society. Punk Style was a strong part of the subculture, for the focus of this appraisal, key pieces and influences from the United States and the United Kingdom will be discussed in detail.

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METHODOLOGY

In order to gain a strong understanding of the impacts of punk culture on fashion in the twentieth century, a range of sources will be referred to. Books such as Punk Rock: So What? featuring multiple interpretations and opinions of the movement which will be referenced, as these provide different viewpoints of how important style and attitudes were. The V&A website provides authentic clothing of the Punk subculture, this supports the impacts of the subculture on fashion, as well as The Metropolitan Museum, which exhibited a Punk exhibition, showing real-life insights into people from the Punk Movement, highlighting their own way of rebellion.

Theorists such as Hebdige (1979) and looking at a Marxist cultural perspective, along with journals creates a strong understanding, and reliable analysis of the Punk movement s impact on men and womenswear fashion. I believe these are all credible sources due to the authors and the writing style portrayed, as well as where the sources have orginally come from. Using these sources, I will aim to make a critique on the impacts the Punk movement has placed on fashion.

What is punk?

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FIGURE 4:

FIGURE 5:

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FIGURE 6:

CHAPTER 1: UNIFORM

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A STRATEGIC CHOICE OF CLOTHING HELP TO ACHIEVE PARTICULAR GOALS FOR THE INDIVIDUAL. ROACH-HIGGINS AND EICHER (1992 CITED BY SKLAR 2019) THEORISED THAT DRESS IS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE IN COMMUNICATING AN IDENTITY (1992 CITED BY SKLAR 2019).

THE PUNK SUBCULTURE ALLOWED FASHION AS A SYMBOL TO PORTRAY THEIR REBELLION AND THEIR

FIGHT AGAINST OPPRESSION

(BAZINET, 2017). THE

YOUNGER GENERATION HAD STRONG FEELINGS TOWARDS THEIR PARENTS AND PREVIOUS FASHION TRENDS, AS THEY APPEARED OUTDATED AND WERE A FORM OF KEEPING A RIGID AND OPPRESSIVE SOCIETY (BAZINET, 2017)

FIGURE 8:

9

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FIGURE 9:

CHAPTER 1.1 DO IT YOURSELF Philosopher Jacques Derrida has described, Deconstruction has come to imply a decoding of both meaning and designer intent, as well as a descriptive term for certain structural characteristics (The Met, no date). The punk look is mainly associated with clothing that has been modified, destroyed, has been put back together, is inside out, is unfinished or is deteriorating (The Met, no date). This deconstructive idea allows punks to have a unique look as no other piece of clothing will be an exact replica. This indicates the freedom of expression that drove the punk movement during this time,

and emphasises the fact that punks wanted to be accepted for their differences.

The Do It Yourself , Jumble Sale and Make and Mend philosophy (Cartledge 1999 cited by Sabin 1999 page 144-5) had such an impact on the younger generation, that Women s Own Magazine had their own feature on Do it Yourself punk clothing. This allowed people who were unable to shop at designer stores, to be involved in the movement, suiting their own needs.

Therefore, it is obvious that DIY and Punk Style disseminated into mainstream fashion at this time. Customisation included

rips, studs and holes, highlighting the effect of rebelliousness and personal creativity against the societal norms. The way Punks used fashion, reflects the economic environment and the noticeable change in attitudes socially and economically.

Deconstruction is an important component of the twentieth century postmodern style and continues to be seen in the work of contemporary fashion designers (The Met, no date) such as Vivienne Westwood.

FIGURE 10:

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DURING THE PUNK MOVEMENT, CLOTHING WAS A KEY PART OF LIBERATION AND REBELLION. IN LONDON, AS THE MOVEMENT WAS BASED ON REBELLION, THE MORE SHOCKING AND DISTURBING THE CLOTHING THE BETTER IT PORTRAYED VIEWPOINTS FROM THE ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT. WOMEN WANTED A REPLACEMENT FROM THE PASTEL CLOTHING IN THE SIXTIES, CREATING AN AGGRESSIVE UNDERSTANDING OF FEMALE SEXUALITY (SABIN 1999, PAGE 188).

P

CHAPTER 1.2 BONDAGE, FETISHES AND TABOOS

12 Punk provided the best opportunity to

It can be argued that, David Bowie

express one s mood and identity. From

along with the glam rock movement

this, many men and women began to

which was the precursor to the Punk

glorify accessories that connoted low

style.

status ,

Gaultier

for

example,

dog

collars,

In addition to this, Jean Paul challenged

bondage clothing, fake fur and rubber

stereotypes

PVC clothing. (Leblanc 1999, page 40

dressing

). The public saw this as undesirable as

two ideas critique

the Gay and S&M scene became more

and out-casting which would be crucial

common for normal day-to-day wear.

facets of punk (Skar 2019). The idea

Designers

Westwood

of rebellion against the stereotypical

designed fetish wear especially for

image of a man or woman, pushed the

prostitutes, those with underground

popularity of wearing these kinds of

sexual tastes (V&A, no date). As sex

clothes, reinforcing the fear from the

and promiscuity was selling, people

media and the public, creating this

thought this exploitation of fashion was

image of Punk s being a threat to

a response to the collapsing society

society. The use of darker shades

and used this medium to express their

emphasises this as it can portray an

like

Vivienne

with

gender androgynous

(Marie Claire 2017). These beauty, sexuality

dissatisfaction of society at this time.

aggressive

This type of clothing began to blur the

mysterious (Skar 2019) attitude.

lines

of

gender

boundaries

(Skar

2019)

and

societal norms (Redazione 2017).

FIGURE 11:

or

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FIGURE 12:

CHAPTER 1.3: BODY MODIFCATION AND HAIR

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During the later area of the movement, civil unrest intensified (Marie Claire 2017) in the 1980s causing punk fashion to become incredibly politicised. Main key aspects of punk fashion are piercings, tattoos, and unnatural hair colours (Skar 2019). According to Langman (2008) body modifications

were

fashion

statements,

indicating

a

moment

of

resistance (Langman 2008) and rebellion against capitalist modernity (Langman 2008). More extreme body modifications such as the stretching of the ears, were done to push the boundaries of style against the acceptable standards in society. Highlighting the similarities between the Futurist movement of non-naturalist expression (O Hara 1999, page 33)

Hair was a symbol of rejection against the Hippie movement of the 1960s, as the asexual style of bright, shaven hair was inspired by Sid Vicious and Debbie Juvenile. Radical hair is said to indicate embracing of a subversive differentiation from the norm (Skar 2019), for example Mohicans were promoted by different bands, for example: Discharge and The Exploited.

Most commonly, the use of unnatural colours (Skar 2019) differentiated Punks from the conformity, including colours such as: blue, green and pink (Skar 2019).

Accessorising can highlight a political idea, for example, an X was plastered on clothing and tattoos or written in sharpie on the back of hands (Skar 2019). This represented the Straight Edge hardcore punk subculture. This symbol is a label that represents abstinence from alcohol, drugs, nicotine, and in some cases promiscuous sex

(Aron 2016).

Although, the Punk subculture had strong beliefs about rebellion and this attitude, this small symbol helps to break down the barriers between Punks and outsiders from the subculture.

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CHAPTER 2: INFLUENCES

FIGURE 13:

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CHAPTER 2.1: VIVIENNE WESTWOOD FIGURE 14:

FIGURE 15:

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Anarchy hit the UK in the 1970s due to Vivienne Westwood s and Malcom McLaren s participation in the fashion world (Paula and Figueredo 2018). The creation of their store on King s Road, originally called Let It Rock , then changed to SEX to reflect McLaren s new shock tactics (Met.com, no date) saw the amalgamation of adulterated conventional youth styles (Stevenson 1999) and mixing radical political rhetoric with the fetish wear of the middle-aged and middle-class (Stevenson 1999). The designs for SEX encouraged rage, outrage, boredom and sexual affront (Paula and Figueredo 2018) which helped define the overall punk style. One of the main aims of the shop were to expose taboos, as provocative clothes has never been seen (Marco Pirroni in Colgrave and Sullivan, 2002, p126), it introduced the popularisation and consolidation of the punk aesthetic (Paula and Figueredo 2018). The unique designs became prominent in the subculture through erotic illustrations. From this point, SEX quickly became a meeting point for petty criminals, prostitutes, perverts and freaks (Stevenson 1999).

An example of such controversial clothing designed by Westwood is the Sex Pistols

T-Shirt with pink condoms displaying the band s name with a nude

teenager below smoking a cigarette. It can be argued that the ultimate symbol of punk style is the Chicken Bone T-shirt which was decorated with bleached chicken bones, sewn together to form the word ROCK

(Paula and Figueredo

2018) as well as PERV . This was extremely provocative to the outsiders of the movement, although did complete the aim of challenging the cultural normalities.

Causing controversy in the establishment, Westwood s t-shirts with notorious slogans such as Cambridge Rapist (Marie Claire 2017) and Paedophillia (Marie Claire 2017) along with the introduction of SEX brought a cultural change in British fashion, as the punk movement was becoming more well-known through fashion and through the media.

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CHAPTER 2.2: CONTROVERSY

FIGURE 16: FIGURE 17:

19 Many pieces of Punk clothing contain confrontational images, made to challenge the social norms of the 1970s by wearing radical items. For example, imagery on the clothing included logos and patches which supported a selection of social causes; animal rights or freeing prisoners with controversial legal cases like Mumia Abu Jamal (Skar 2019).

The main outcomes of these were to portray rebellion and create conflict, often generating strong feelings of resentment towards the Punk subculture.

The use of the Swastika reflects the rejection of political idealism (christgau 1976 cited

by McBride 2016) as it caused mixed results among the rest of society as irony was rarely used in clothing (McNeil and McCain 1996 cited by Skar 2019). It was made to become an outrageous statement and made to shock the older generation. The swastika was used in the early punk stage in New York City, even with a considerable amount of Jewish individuals, including Richard Hell, Chris Stein from Blondie, and multiple Ramones (Skar 2019). Many people from this early stage were directly descended from Holocaust victims (Skar 2019) , but also wore the swastika as a form of identity and self-expression. Other Jewish punks felt that wearing a swastika was a way of protesting against their ancestors oppressive persecutors from World war II. The symbol became popular in the UK due to Westwood s contrarian designs, and being features in certain movies, such as Ken Russell s Mahler where Westwood was the designer. Films influenced fashion as it presented new trends to the younger generation, this large impact of the punk movement created public fear the as the media had cultivated an image of violence, deviance, and repugnance at the very inception of the subculture (Leblanc 1999, page 39).

FIGURE 17:

20 During the movement, iconic punk albums were released by

FIGURE 18:

the clash, the sex pistols which became cultural symbols for the younger 1970s,

generation. the

punk

In

the

ideology

intended to reject music made before the movement. The do it yourself

aesthetic

influenced

the creation of punk music, due to the liberation and freedom it gives an individual. This liberty encouraged punks to form their own bands. This reflects the dada art movement mentioned previously, existing

by

social

rejecting

the

values.

This

music was shocking to some people, which was a key aspect of punk culture. Music and fashion have always intertwined, first shown in the early stages of the

social

and

political

movement. It encouraged fans to form their own bands, with the foundation of fashion, youth culture

and

politics.

This

is

evident, that this pushed punk to be represented in the local media as a threat to society.

CHAPTER 3: MUSIC

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CHAPTER 3.1: THE SEX PISTOLS WOOD FIGURE 19:

The Sex Pistols were strong figures during the Punk movement, Westwood s designs epitomised the true meaning of punk. Most of their songs suggested political statements, for example, Anarchy in the UK and God Save the Queen . One of the designs for a t-shirt made by Westwood includes God Save the Queen shown in four different types of lettering, and unequal mis-aligned individual letters (Sabin 1999, page 87). The idea of the safety pin was a symbol against the Queen, almost as if they are silencing her speech, and silencing society. The t-shirt itself, has connotations of threaten[ing] violence (Sabin 1999, page 87). and a criminal message (Sabin 1999, page 87) towards society. Emphasising the individuality of the Punk movement. The Sex Pistols themselves are pushing this idea of anarchy as they have stated Actually, we re not into music, we re into chaos (Ogg 2006).

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CONCLUSION Throughout this critical discussion and analysis of social, political and economic drivers such as the UK s economic recession of the Punk Movement. It is said that Punk Style drew from many sources pulled together to represent cohesion of similar ideas (Skar 2019). It can be argued that the economic recession was one of the largest catalysts of the movement, casing anger and rebellion to become the leading thought. It has become apparent that this movement allowed the Youth of Britain and America to voice their opinions of oppression through fashion and style. It is important to discuss the conflict this caused between the younger and the older generation as it is argued by Hebdige (1979) that subcultures are caused by uprising against the mainstream culture.

Although the Punk movement is seen as a contestation movement in the artistic, economic and social dimension (Paula and Figueredo 2018), it has always been more than just a piece of clothing or a band. It is clear that throughout the twentieth century, this unified attitude was a easily identifiable fashion which was powerful enough to influence fashion starting in the 1970s. this demonstrates its direct influence on menswear and womenswear. It is important to discuss the conflict this caused between the younger and the older generation as it is argued by Hebdige (1979) that subcultures are caused by uprising against the mainstream culture.

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REFERENCES Bazinet, T. 2017. Punk Subculture & The Fashion Movement. [Accessed 12 November]. Available from: https://taylorbazinet.com/punk-subculture-its-fashionmovement/\ Guerra, P and Figuerdo, H. 2018. Today Your Style, Tomorrow The World: punk fashion and visual imaginary. [Accessed 14 November]. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329080953_Today_Your_Style_Tomorrow_ The_World_punk_fashion_and_visual_imaginary/citation/download Leblanc, L. 1999. Pretty in Punk Girls Gender Resistance in a Boys Subculture. New Brunswick, N.J; London: Rutgers University Press Marie Claire 2017. Anarchy in the UK: A brief history of punk fashion. [Accessed 12 November]. Available from:https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/fashion/a-brief-history-ofpunk-fashion-79145 McBride, P. 2016 The Punk Movement In the Realms of Subculture, Fashion and Style. [Accessed 12 November]. Available from: https://paulmcbride.me/2016/11/02/essay-the-punk-movement-in-the-realms-ofsubculture-fashion-and-style/ nd

O Hara, C. 1999. The Philosophy of Punk. 2 Edition. London, Mass.: AK Press.

Ogg, A. 2006. No More Heroes A Complete History of UK Punk from 1976 to 1980.

London: Cherry Red Redazione. 2017. When the punk changed fashion and music. [Accessed 12 November]. Available from: https://www.vogue.it/en/news/voguearts/2017/08/09/punk-fashion-music-revolution-vogue-italia-august2017/?refresh_ce= Rotman, A. 2017. How Vivienne Westwood s Punk Revolution Changed Fashion Forever. [Accessed 14 November]. Available from: https://www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/vivienne-westwood-sex-punk-fashion Sabin, R. ed. 1999. Punk Rock: So What? The Cultural Legacy of Punk. London: Routledge Sklar, M. 2018. Punk Style. London: Bloomsbury Academic. [Accessed 15 November].

Available from: https://www.bloomsburyfashioncentral.com/products/berg-fashionlibrary/book/punk-style/introduction Stevenson, N. 1999. Vacant A Diary Of The Punk Years 1976-79. London: Thames & Hudson The Met. No date. Vivienne Westwood (born 1941) and the Postmodern Legacy of Punk Style. [Accessed 12 November]. Available from: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/vivw/hd_vivw.htm

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FIGURES Anarchy UK, no date. History of Punk Fashion. [Accessed 12 November]. Available from: https://anarchyuksite.wordpress.com/original-punk-fashion/ Anothermag.com. 2013. Malcolm McLaren: The Definitive Punk Visionary. [Accessed 12 November]. Available from: https://www.anothermag.com/fashionbeauty/3216/malcolm-mclaren-the-definitive-punk-visionary Bazinet, T. 2017. Punk Subculture & The Fashion Movement. [Accessed 12 November]. Available from: https://taylorbazinet.com/punk-subculture-its-fashionmovement/\ Getty Images. No date. 1970s Punk Hair. [Accessed 12 November]. Available from: https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/1970s-punkhair?family=editorial&phrase=1970s%20punk%20hair&sort=best#license Hungertv.com. no date. JOHN LYDON PERFORMING WITH THE SEX PISTOLS AT THE 100 CLUB PUNK SPECIAL (1976) BY BARRY PLUMMER. [Accessed 12 November].

Available from: https://www.hungertv.com/feature/inside-the-wild-history-of-londonsinfamous-100-club/attachment/8-john-lydon-performing-with-the-sex-pistols-at-the100-club-punk-special-1976-by-barry-plummer/ Marie Claire 2017. Anarchy in the UK: A brief history of punk fashion. [Accessed 12 November]. Available from:https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/fashion/a-brief-history-ofpunk-fashion-79145 Pinterest. No date. Punk Mohawk. [Accessed 12 November]. Available from: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/328270260325958763/ Sklar, M. 2018. Punk Style. London: Bloomsbury Academic. [Accessed 15 November].

Available from: https://www.bloomsburyfashioncentral.com/products/berg-fashionlibrary/book/punk-style/introduction The Met. No date. Works of Art. [Accessed 12 November]. Available from: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/vivw/hd_vivw.htm

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