Finding the gap Part 1

Finding theGap

Northern England

Being raised in the North of England has had an impact on me. From the way I speak to my views on the world. Growing up Iwas always aware that the North was always considered as ‘rough’ and just in general is not as nice as the South of England.

The North is seen as and is ‘poorer’ than the South. I tried to find a reason that this may be and the only thing I could find is that the North has de-industrialised. This means that the factories that once took over the North of England have closed down over the years as technology has advanced. The North-South divide is a major issue within the UK, enough of an issue that all politicians say that they will be able to stop it however nobody seems to have been able to do this.

Since 2010, the life expectancy In London has increased by at least 10 years however in the North the life expectancy has improved the least. This is a major issue as people of the North feel as though their lives do not matter as much compared to those with money living in the South. 1

Northern England

One positive of the North South divide is that the cost of living is cheaper in the North of England compared to the South. This seems good but the salaries of people working in the North are significantly lower.

I feel that the issues in the North are never really faced by the government. Recently a payment of £25 was given to the people living in and around Cumbria to help heat their homes in the winter. After the cost of living crisis inflation took over the UK and this is still a problem now and giving people £25 to help towards heating their homes sounded like a slap in the face to the people struggling, this was only offered to specific areas, primarily if not entirely located in the North. The North-South divide has been going on for years, with the mining strikes in the 1980’s being one instance where this has created protesting within the North.

Northern England

The North has many stereotypes. It is usually that we are perceived as ‘rough’ and that the men are stupid and that they would usually rather fight to solve problems than talk about things As they do not have the ‘capacity’ to do this and are usually portrayed as being ‘chavs’.

The women are usually portrayed as ‘gobby’ and ‘snidey’. They have also been shown through television to be ‘slags’ or to not be able to keep a partner because of their own issues.

Michelle Keegan is a really good example of this. When she is casted in a series she usually plays the loud mouthed Northern girl who is in constant trouble due to her saying and doing things that she shouldn’t. However, Michelle is usually casted in series that are set in the North such as Corrie and Brassic.

I feel that these stereotypes are based on the North-South divide and how Southerners are seen as ‘well spoken’ and quite well off where as in the North we are told we don’t speak ‘properly’ and are majoirtally working class. 3

Northern England

The 1980’s in the North of England

Around 187,000 miners went on strike in 1984 due to Margaret Thatcher closing the pits and forcing 20,000 job losses. Unfortunatley the minors were defeated and the mines were closed leading to thousands of job losses.

The strikes caused violence against the police officers who were specificallly hired to deal with the backlash from the closing mines. This decision was made by somebody that it would not effect. Although the job was dangerous, it was one of the jobs that people did not need to be qualified or have a long application process that ended in rejection. The film Billy Elliot shows this time well. It shows a young boy who’s family is affected by the mines being closed and how things are changing. All of this context in the film adds into the overall story of a young boy breaking the stereotypes and training to become a ballet dancer instead of following in his dad and brothers footsteps of taking the local boxing lessons and when he is old enough, probably joining them in the mines.

The 1980’s in the North of England

There is a stunning part of the film that shows the violence of the miners mixed together with Billy dancing to express his emotions and this perfectly captures the issues and how difficult it was to be a child affected by this.

Why is this relevant to my campaign?

As explained in my Brand Me research, my dad is one of my biggest influences throughout life and his was of living. My dad was a teenager in the 1980’s and these things affected him day to day. His dad was a miner and has many times said how much my grandad hated Margaret Thatcher and has always remembered the problems she had caused for him during this time.

I also feel that I can be quite a chaotic person within my personal life and how I tackle day to day activities. I feel that this time in the North of England was chaotic and was a time for people to express their emotions, although I do not personally feel violence is the way to go, people were passionate about something and protested and rioted about it to show how they felt.

I have always wished that I made more of an effort to talk about the things that i believe in and not being a ‘fence sitter’ and just staying quiet so I want to project this throughout my project.

How the Politics of the 1980’s are similar to the current political situations.

Similar to the 80’s, the UK is still governed by the Conservative Party who still do not seem to be tackling the problems seendaily in the North of England.

Rishi Sunak is the current British Primeminister and was not even voted in, he became the Primeminister through multiple people leaving the position. The North of England is primarily voting for the Labour parties.

Although I am not really a political person,I feel that the problems faced in the North are never addressed as they don’t really impact the politicians living in the South.

Recently I saw a video of Rishi Sunak talking arbot ‘sick note culture’ in the workplace and how he plans on putting a stop to this in the near future.

The current Political Problems that stand out to me.

He goes on to explain that he doesn’t see doctors as ‘qualified’ to determine if a person is not well enough to go to work. He used depression and anxiety as examples of some illnesses. Although I can kind of see where he is coming from about people working, this is not a priority when somebody is ill and feels that they can not go into their workplace and carry out their daily activities.

The Constant strain on the NHS makes it difficult for the people living in the UK to be treated for any illnesses they may have with waitlists being so long and this time is crucial so that they do not worsen their condition. The current waitlist time is supposed to drop to 7.4 million by the end of 2024 but this is an estimate without including any health emergencies that could spread through the UK such as Covid did in 2020.

The current Political Problems that stand out to me.

It is crucial that the NHS receives the funding it needs to be able to keep upwith the changing policies of the government, especially when these policies are concerning the health of the people.

The UK has also faced a Mental Health Crisis. Forcing people who are struggling in this way to go to work will only lead to an increase in problems for them and unfortunatley could increase the suicide victims all over the UK which is awful to even have to think about. Between October 22 and December 23 the amount of people who took their own lives was 4899 which is too high of a number already, these new rules could and most likely will increase this.

In the current climate, I feel that welfare should be a main priority for the government over the sick pay and PIP which is being paid each year.

Why is this relevant?

My message that i have always created throughout my work is to ‘Look Behind the Beauty’. This to me is to focus on the negatives and to show a beautiful image with a dark intention behind it.

I feel that the current political situation regarding the welfare of the people in the UK plays into this idea. I feel that Mental Health needs to be spoken about and the stigma around this needs t be taken away.

I trained as a Mental Health Nurse for a year and although it wasn’t for me, my feelings on the subject have only grown stronger. I saw people ion their most vulnerable states, especially working on a mental health ward just after Christmas and I feel that there has never been and will never be enough support for people feeling this way and experiencing these illnesses until it is too late and they do end up on a Mental Health Ward. For me, this message is so important to show people that it’s okay to feel this way and that the support is out there if they need it.

Why is this relevant?

Rebellion against the Governement

Where there is authority, there will always be rebellion. This has always been done in different ways. Rebellion against people in charge has always been around, treason was and still is a major crime dating back to 1352, this means ‘to betray ones country, especially by trying to kill or overthrow the sovereign government’.

On November 5th 1605, Guy Fawkes and his conspirators attempted to blow up Parliament with their Gun Powder Plot. This is now celebrated yearly with fireworks and bonfires.

Since the 1960’s with ‘Hippie’ culture protests have been a way of expressing peoples feelings about political situations in a ‘peaceful’ way.

In the 1980s the miners went on strike exhibiting violence and anarchy towards the government.

Rebellion

Where there is authority, there will always be rebellion. Without rules, society woul just crumble. The rules have been put inplace to protect the public. However some rules don’t sit well with everyone.

In the UK we are taught to follow rules from a young age with thigangs such as uniforms being mandatory in public schools from the age of 5. I personally hated this and was getting into trouble for wearing jeans and trainers instead of ‘school pants and shoes’ because in my head it didn’t hurt or affect anyone but this seemed to be a problem because everybody had to look the same.

All children rebel against their parents at some point as well. It’s just the way the human brain works. I feel that rebellion is an expression of emotions and values. Although violence is not something I personally agree with, in a way it is an art to me and it shows pure emotion and pain.

Anarchy

Anarchy is defined as ‘ a situation in which there is no organisation and control, especially in society, because there is o effective government.’ The Purge fills show anarchy in a good way. The plot of this films is that for a certain amount of time everything is legal and the people take their freedom and do what they please. Once the alarm goes off to signal the end of the purge, the people go back to normal life with no consequences. The only downside was that everybody was fearing fir their lives as murder was no longer illligal. I think the films show the true consequences of the anarchy that some people want to have in soicety. If enough people disagree with the rules and no longer follow them, the country could slip into anarchy. The Punk community, especially in their beginning, was all for the idea of anarchy and wanted to express this and show this through their clothes, music and their overall attitudes.

Punk

Punk is a subculture which originated in the late 1970’s. From this the music and lifestyle was soon picked up in Britian and a new wave of music, fashion and attitudes took Britian by storm. Bands such as the Sex Pistols created music that changed the ideology of the youth at the time. Songs such as ‘God Save the Queen’ spread the awareness and the ideas behind anarchy and the rebellion to the social norms followed.

In the UK, punk was established from the shop SEX created by Malcolm McLaren and his then girlfriend Vivienne Westwood and the two created their own empire within the punk community, reaching out to people like them who were different and no longer wanted to hide this or feel ashamed of this. The punk community was accepting and was a space where like minded people couldshare their common interests and beliefs without facing the backlash which more conservative communities would give.

Why is Punk relevant to my project?

As i have mentioned many times, my dad is one of my biggest influences throughout life. I feel that this is because he was different to other dads and although at times this has embarrassed me, I now admire and appreciate how my dad is not afraid to be different and how he has no shame in saying what he is thinking.

Although the Punk wave has calmed down majorly from the 80’s -when my dad was first influenced by this- the messages and influence which he has taken from this are still a big part of him today and that makes up who he is.

My dad always says that punk is not a fashion trend, its a lifestyle. I have taken from this that its not just about dressing the part, its about living it and not being afraid of backlash or other peoples opinions.

I feel that as I have gotten older I no longer care about ‘fitting in’ or pissing people off and I know that this is a lesson I have learned from him, if people don’t like it they don’t have to look or listen.

Why is Punk relevant to my project?

The Sex Pistols

The Sex Pistols were put together by their manager Malcolm McLaren in 1975, originally to promote his clothing shop SEX. The band gained a huge following shortly after by member of the Punk community. Their gritty lyrics and spin on rock music is what captured people and influenced them to cause a revolution throughout the UK.

Other musicians were inspired by this and began creating music with similar sounds and messages,adding to the community.

Constantly being scandalised by the press, The Sex Pistols were dropped by their first record company. Their second record company cut ties after only a few days. Their image was not always the best but that’s the image they created and the lives that they lived. Swearing on live TV, calling out the government and highlighting their view on the ountry and how it was run back then is what caused them to be so younger in cheek and that’s where the fascination with them grew.

The Sex Pistols

The release of their second single God Save the Queen was released at the same time as Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee. This song was later banned by the media but still managed to sell out in al record shops and climb to No2 on the charts that year. This caused harassment and violence towards them, something that the band was exhibiting but were in the wrong for doing so. This hypocrisy is so ironic, it feels to me that everything they were doing was okay if it was being done for the same reasons as the rest of society. This is something that their music and views were against. It was almost like society was playing into their messages which is wild.

I feel that the banning of this song justplayed out the songs true message and meaning about the monarchy. They later became banned by local governments in specific areas. Once again giving a great example of the control they had and further playing into the band, and their communities ideologies for anarchy and rebellion against this.

The Sex Pistols

Following the backlash to their music and lifestyles, things didn’t really get better for the band. They split in 1978 after their tour of America that was a shambles. Desperate to keep the band together, McLaren began releasing singles and covers having Sid Vicious as the lead singer. Sid Vicious was spiralling due to his own self destruction and died in 1979 of an overdose while out on bail for the murder of Nancy Sprungen.

Although the band was no longer together and they had lost their bassist, their messages and the impact this lifestyle had on many continued. Other Punk Rock bands were still creating and releasing music, adding to the legacy that The Sex Pistols had created. This music is still being created today through musicians such as Yungblud and is regaining it’s popularity but I personally do not think that it will ever have the impact on people that the Sex Pistols created.

The Sex Pistols

Who was Malcolm McLaren?

Malcolm McLaren was a musician and fashion designer who was the manager of the band The Sex Pistols. His ideas and creations started the Punk persuasion in the late 1970’s. He attended many art schools across England and was drawn to the philosophy of the Situationist International movement. In 1971 him and Vivienne Westwood opened their own avant garde clothing shop called ‘Let It Rock’, later to be renamed ‘SEX’. After this he became very interested in rock music and the ways which it can be used to voice his radical aesthetic ideas. He managed The New York Dolls and after this became the manager of the Sex Pistols, a band he created to promote his clothing shop. He really found his feet while managing the Sex Pistols and was facing constant criticism ofr being too controversial. He arranged for the band to play God Save the Queen on a boat outside of Parliament.

Who was Malcolm McLaren?

He was often adding fuel to the fire for the band and himself which caused outbreaks of violence and harrassment for the band. His lifestyle and the influence he had over the bands fans was huge. He showed a world of chaos through the band that everybody was fascinated by, although they did not agree with the behaviours being exhibited Everybody knew who the band and who McLaren were.

After the split of the Sex Pistols, Malcolm McLaren continued to manage bands formed through the new wave he had created. He was always a part of the community he created.

Punk in Fashion

With the punk music and lifestyle, the punk fashion followed. The clothes that were considered punk usually consisted of safety pins and ripped pieces of clothing. The way people within the community dressed was an expression of their personalities.

Symbols such as Swastikas were worn simply to offend people and to get a reaction.

Many punk fashion brands were created and the anti-fashion wave began in the UK. This form of expression was made popular by brands such as Vivienne Westwood and Comme des Garçons.

Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood was a fashion designer who began her career with her then boyfriend Malcolm McLaren. They opened the fetish shop SEX together and from there lead the punk revolution.

Vivienne began making clothes for Malcolm and from this the two of them opened the ‘Let It Rock’ shop in London.

Vivienne then became interested in the biker style clothes including zips and leather. Following this, the shop had a rebrand and was now called ‘Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die’.

Vivienne and Malcolm began to design their own range of TShirts with controversial slogans across the front of them. This lead to them getting into trouble under the 1959 Obscene Publications act. Their response to this was to continue with their designs and create more graphic T-Shirts with more obscenities across them and more graphic images.

Vivienne Westwood

Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die soon faced another rebrand and the shop SEX was born. Their slogan being ‘rubberwear for the office’. This was the pairs retaliation to the backlash of their designs and the controversy that they were sharing to the world.

After the release of God Save the Queen and the media ban on the song, SEX rebranded and became Seditionaries. The shop now sold clothing with the zips and straps of fetish and bondage clothing into fashion. This created a DIY look to the clothes and created the uniform for Punk Rock.

after the fall of the Sex Pistols, Westwood rebranded the shop and it was named ‘Worlds End’ which is the same name the shop has now. Westwood took her love of avant garde and love of controversy to create her brand that was and still is iconic. She used her brand to spread awareness of what she believed in and to hold together the community.

Vivienne Westwood

The brand has had many collections throughout the years with such a diverse look to each one. Vivienne’s views and beliefs have always been at the centre of her designs and how the clothes are made.

Many celebrities have worn Westwoods work through the years but the one that really sticks out to me is Helena Bonham Carter. Similar to Vivienne Westwood, Helena is quite quirky and this can be recognised through her work. She has always had a close working relationship with Tim Burton to be able to bring to life his obscure female characters and she does this with ease. Her everyday look seems to be items that she has found and just throws on and this gives the vibe of her not caring which is Vivienne Westwoods target audience. Over the years Vivienne has used her clothing line to share her morals and views on the word. To her this has been a form of protest that began with the backlash of her collections with Malcolm McLaren and she realised that fashion is used for more than a way to look ‘nice’.

Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne would often use her fashions shows as a place to talk and create awareness ofthe ongoing issues in the world. One of her shows was set out like a protest with the models holding signs about how fracking is ruining the planet while showcasing her work.

Her climate change t-shirts were popular among celebrities such as Lady Gaga and other influential celebrities who also use their platforms as a way to talk about the issues that they feel need resolving.

For these reasons,Vivienne Westwood stands out from other luxury brands who follow the trends but Westwood created her own.

I feel that it is important that Vivienne was so involved in the brand and everything that was released while she was alive was something that she was proud of and that she had a say in. Everything she designed felt real and her influence could be seen throughout the collections.

Vivienne Westwood

Why is this relevant to my Campaign?

I have already explained that Punk is relevant to my work as I want to create a Punk piece of work as I have always loved the Punk community and I have been heavily influenced by my dad.

As this is a fashion campaign, I feel that it would only be right to use Vivienne Westwood as the brand I want to base this campaign on. Vivienne Westwood was in the centre of the whole punk revolution and her contributions were crucial to this community. She had a huge hand in creating the fashion for this movement.

Even after the punk wave died down, Vivienne’s attitudes always remained the same and she used this throughout her work to share her beliefs and morals. Her punk spirit stayed with her and that is something that i admire about my dad, the changing trends never changed people involved in the punk community and that is what punk is all about.

The Downfall of Vivienne Westwood

After Vivienne Westwood died in 2022, I among others were interested to see how the brand would continue without her strong messages and influence. The recent FW 2024 show from the brand has shown that maybe they can’t continue her legacy without her.

My opinion of this new collection is that it feels like it has been thrown together last minute and that the show itself made a mockery of everything that the brand and Vivienne herself has worked to hard to create.

I feel that the collection had no meaning to it and that it was overtly sexual for no reason. It was uncomfortable to watch on the internet so I can’t begin to imagine how being at the show must’ve felt in person. Vivienne Westwood has always been controversial and the collections she would create and the shows which she would have at times could be tongue in cheek but she always had a reason for this and the reason was at the forefront of the show.

The Downfall of Vivienne Westwood

Andreas Kronthaler

Andreas Kronthaler is a fashion designer. Born in Austria, he first was introduced into the arts when he was 14 and attended art school. He loved creating sculptures out of different materials and realised after using fabric that he wanted to be a designer.

He was first introduced to his late wife Vivienne Westwood in 1988 in his first year of Uni where she was giving a lecture on the fashion industry. He created a collection of dresses inspired by the renaissance.

After meeting Vivienne, he began working for her. He continued creating the renaissance inspired dresses and these were used in Vivienne’s collection that same year. He has always had an influence on the collections which have been released and has been the creative director for the brand for 25 years. Now that Vivienne has passed, Andreas has big shoes to fill with the collections he creates and releases and this pressure is huge.

Andreas Kronthaler

Has Punk died?

With the changing attitudes of the generations and the influence of Punk no longer being relevant in society today, the question is posed.

With every new generation comes new trends and new problems which are becoming more relevant. Each generation is being more quiet about problems within the world over fears of being unliked. This what people in the punk community thrived off of. The punk community was built on rejection and pissing people off, the more controversial they could be the better and the newer generations do not want to partake in this.

Cancel culture has caused a huge change in attitudes and has sparked a fear in people about what they want to say and do and what they actually say and do. We live in a world of ‘influencers’ who aren’t really influencing anything and for these reasons i believe that punk has died and the death of Vivienne Westwood has shown that perhaps punk died with her.

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References

https://www.internetgeography.net/topics/thenorth-southdivide/#:~:text=What%20has%20caused%20the%20north,s outh%20it%20is%20ranked%207th.

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https://geographical.co.uk/culture/a-countrydivided-why-englands-north-south-divide-is-getting-worse

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References

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https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-thecollection/stories/the-treasonact/#:~:text=The%20Treason%20Act%20of%201352,on%2 0the%20statute%20book%20today.

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https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/historyand-stories/guy-fawkes-and-the-gunpowder-plot/#gs.8aooyz Page 15 -

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https://www.vox.com/2016/7/1/12054200/purgemovie-explained

References

Page 17 - Oxford Dictionary

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https://www.britannica.com/art/punk

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https://www.museumofyouthculture.com/punk/

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https://www.britannica.com/topic/the-SexPistols

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https://www.britannica.com/art/punk

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https://www.malcolmmclarenestate.com/bio

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https://www.ajournalofmusicalthings.com/readersask-what-was-the-deal-with-original-british-punks-and-theirswastikas/

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https://www.viviennewestwood.com/engb/westwood-world/the-story-so-far/

Page 31 - Vivienne Westwood

Page 34 - VivienneWestwood

Page 34 - Vogue

Page 35https://www.showstudio.com/contributors/andreas_kronthale

r Page 36 - @ndreaskronthaler on Instagram