Understanding the Development of Fashion - Coursework Example

Understanding the development of Fashion Introduction Punk was originally a culture that was counter-cultural and politically outspoken. Punk was associated with a genre of music known as rock. Through the years this has been seen to change as punk begun focusing more on the music side of it. The clothes that members of rock bands wore are what influenced the punk fashion. Punk influenced fashion through the youth that were rebellious and wore outrageous clothing. They tore clean and presentable clothes as a way of getting attention. Punk fashion has greatly evolved from just a mere movement to a fashion statement that has inspired many designers. Currently the style is seen to be embraced by celebrities such as the pop star Lady Gaga. She once wore a safety pin dress that Liz Hurley once wore (Bestley and Loren, 2012). History of Punk In the mid-1970s in London there was an anarchic and aggressive movement which led to the emergence of punk. Teenagers were the majority members in this movement. They were rebellious and followers of a new music style that was known as Punk. Malcolm McLaren together with Vivienne Westwood was part of the most popular music group known as “Sex Pistols.” Vivienne Westwood had a fashion shop known as “Sex Pistols” where the band wore clothes from. The store sold a lot of accessories and clothes to the punks and fans of the band (Sabin, 2002). The early ‘70s saw punk influence a lot of young people and the art world. Punk was used to express rebellion and self-rule mentality. In America the term punk was initially used to refer to music bands that had come up. These bands were perceived as the vanguard of the musical movement. The movement saw punk spread around the world in form of visual art, music and fashion (Sabin, 2002). Elements of Punk Fashion Punk fashion is a very affordable type of fashion for the poor and the rich. Emergence of punk fashion saw it being mainly won by students. Students used old clothing that they found in second hand shop and in charity to make punk clothes. The source of material for these clothes was cheap to obtain and pointed that status was not important. Low status associated with this kind of fashion brought out the students as rebellious especially the fact that they belonged to an enormous community (Colegrave and Sullivan, 2001). Punk fashion not only involves clothes but hairstyle is also part of the fashion. Male punk fanatics’ hairstyle was either long hair or a bald head. The dressing would consist of tight jeans, leather jackets or ripped clothing. On the other hand, women associated with this fashion wear dark make up and sharp razors as jewelry. Dress code for the ladies was fishnet stockings, tight leather miniskirts, T-shirts or corsets (Christopher, 1995). Punk fashion enthusiasts used to rip off their clothing on purpose, embellish it with thick chains and dye them. Both men and women would wear T-shirts with uncensored writings and images. Tattoos were used by the punk fashion enthusiasts to attract attention. Tattoos were mainly accompanied with piercings all over the body, chains, studs and jewelry made of razors. Studs were also used to accessorize leather boots and any clothes made from leather. These outrageous elements of the punk fashion led to it being associated with rebellion and aggression (Perry, 2001). Punk had beauty cannon where ladies would wear long hair. The hair usually had a lot of gel, glues and hairspray. The extremist followers of this type of fashion would shave their heads and remain bald or shave part of the hair. Make up used by punks were strong make up that was seen in both sexes of the fashion. Black eyeliners and eye shadows were used to darken the eyes while where whitened or made to appear pale. Their hair was also dyed in bright colors such as green, blue or pink (Leblanc, 1999). A period of forty years since the beginning of punks in the early 1970’s has seen punk fashion find a place within the society. The shocking phenomenon regarding it has faded away and the society is seen to have embraced it all over the world. Punk fashion has also found its way in fashion shops and fashion runways (Sabin 2002). Types of Punk Fashion Punk fashion is usually associated with the refusal to conform. Initially punk was a fashion statement created with the intention of provoking people. The T-shirts had controversial images and swastikas on them (McNeil, 2008). Classic anarchist punk is a type of punk fashion that existed in the late 1970s and the early 1980s. This type combines customized blazers and combat boots. Classic Punk also has a combination of dress shirts that have anti- establishment slogans written on them. These dress shirts may be worn under leather jackets. Denim also has a place in the world of punk fashion. Glam punk fashion is a category of punk fashion that is flamboyant and aims to express the individuality of the wearer. This class of punk fashion originated from a band known as New York Dolls in the early 1970’s. Bright colors glitter and animal prints are put into use with this type of punk. These materials are used in making clothes for both the males and females followers of this fashion. Glam punk can also include tight fitting animal print pants and an electric blue satin shirt (Cogan, 2006). Gothic style is a branch of punk that adopts society’s taboo such as death and fantasy symbols to express themselves. Grey and black are the main colors used in this category but they are always highlighted with colors such as dark purple and red. Men’s Goth style consists of black pants, black satin shirt mostly with ruffles and a cap. The last type of punk fashion is the Emo-style punk. Emo punk includes tight fitting short-sleeved shirt, slim–fit jeans and studded belts. Hair style is also a part of the Emo style where the hair is usually straightened then swept to the side in a bang. Difference between Punk in United Kingdom and United States of America Punk fashion in the United Kingdom emerged almost the same time as in the United States. Unlike United States, United Kingdom had a minimal effect in shaping early punk culture. The United Kingdom was experiencing bad economic state and unemployment rates when punk culture was evolving. This situation in the United Kingdom propelled the punk culture to gain focus both in the economic and political scene (Thompson, 2004). Youths in the United Kingdom became unruly due to the situation leading to clashes between people. Malcolm McLaren and her girlfriend then Vivienne had returned to the United Kingdom from the United States and opened a clothes shop which started the punk fashion. The unemployment situation saw youths working in the punk clothes store hence radicalizing the punk clothing style. The Sex Pistols was the name of the store and McLaren used it to put punk fashion on the map. The brand Sex Pistols developed a staunch group of followers from the south-east London suburb. This group helped to make the punk fashion popular (Cogan, 2006). In the United States, the emergence and spread of punk fashion was mainly witnessed in New York City. New York being the birthplace of Punk culture in the United States, other places like Cleveland and Detroit too were witnessing the growth of punk. In the United States there was an expanding market for goods that were associated with the youth. Through music and fashion especially the punk culture, the youths felt the need to struggle and be recognized by the changes that were taking place. In an attempt to get recognition, the youths would play music and wear clothes that would shake people to their senses (Barnard, 2002). Five years after the emergence of punk, it had evolved so much in the United States. The Ramones for example wore clothes that symbolized their street boys’ identity. Music explosion in the United States it is what brought Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood to the United States to manage the band group New York Dolls. Through managing them they got immersed into the punk scene. Emergence into the punk scene saw them reflecting it in the United Kingdom after their return (Colegrave and Sullivan, 2001). Emergence of punk both in the United States and the United Kingdom was fuelled by the need of youth to get recognition in all sectors from the social part of life to the political side. Punk icons like Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren are seen to have embraced the growth of punk in both countries. They mobilized youths to adopt into this fashion culture hence putting punk fashion on the world map. The Link between Punk and Politics Punk culture was linked to politics through its rebellious nature. Punk was defying the norms of the society and this included the political aspect too. Politics was an area associated with people that had self interest in the positions they occupied. During the rise of punk era, both Unite States and UK were experiencing difficult economic times and employment. The political leaders made no effort to salvage the situation and this resulted in rebellion from the punk followers (Welters and Lillethun, 2007). These followers believed that self-governance was important and they did their best to change the political situation of the country through having their own ways of governance. Punk brought awareness on the need to have good governance and to avoid leaders that would take advantage of people and the situation. Punk rebellious nature and advocating for the need of people to speak their minds out threatened the political world. The positive side of this is that it kept political leaders on their toes on the need of good governance (Steele, 1996). Influence of Punk in the Society Punk has brought a lot of influence in the society especially the Do It Yourself culture. Most clothes that were associated with Punk were created by the owners. The owners did this through ripping, adding studs, color and images on their clothes. Followers of this fashion culture were of the belief that it was not a must you buy expensive clothes from a store. One could easily make a fashion statement piece of cloth from second hand clothes (Triggs, 2006). People were able to freely express themselves as a result of punk. Punk fashion in itself defied the norms of the society by using things the society considered a taboo to express themselves. The spread of punk saw people rebel and speak up on issues that they felt were affecting them. To add on, there were anti-war rallies that emerged during the rise of punk (Thompson, 2004). The anarchy movement was also in a great way influenced by punk. Anarchy believes in people having freedom and being able to govern themselves. Attitudes highly held by the society received numerous comments with the emergence of Punk. Some of the punk clothing such as grunge was used to make a statement against materialism. Grunge involved an old plaid flannel shirt being worn open over a band shirt with old jeans. A pair of canvas shoes was usually used to accessorize this style. Punk fashion also influenced the designers that came up. Upcoming designers were seen to include elements of punk in their fashion. Celebrities and musicians from other genres also embraced punk fashion. Punk has been seen to move from local stores to high end stores. These stores have embraced Punk fashion as high people in the society seek to be identified with this fashion. Some wore it during their stage performances while others wore punk fashion to red carpet events (Buxbaum 2005). Vivienne Westwood Vivienne Westwood is known to be one of the most influential fashion designers in Britain of the twentieth century. Her most formative association is with the youth movement and subcultural fashion known as punk. Vivienne is usually considered the mother of punk, but this is often disputed by a group of people who believe punk also originated from England’s depressed economic and sociopolitical conditions of the mid-1970s (Wilcox, 2004). Vivienne Westwood was once married to Malcolm McLaren whom together they were responsible for constructing the art of punk. Punk music was the main inspiration of Vivienne to come up with the fashion collections. Through her designs Vivienne was revealing and very innovative. The fashion ideas and statements brought out by Vivienne were used as an inspiration by other designers. These designers were able to create clothes that were more wearable and sold them in their boutiques (Vermore, 1996). Conclusion Fashion styles that are witnessed in today’s world are come back styles (Herald, 2006). Punk fashion culture has brought back an extremely fashionable wave. People now have rainbow hairstyles and daring enough to shave areas of their scalp. Young people and celebrities have embraced this culture with upcoming fashion designers drawing inspiration and borrowing from the punk fashion culture in creating clothes. Punk has become a legacy over the years and the high street fashion too has embraced it. Present and past punk has been successful in their own unique ways. Both stages of punk have managed to influence the society into adopting o the style and having an independent voice. In general, punk has affected our society’s culture in terms of art, music and creativity. Through punk some people in the society have become more outspoken. The youth have taken it as a lifestyle choice making punk to be part of our day to day life. 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