When the punk

changed fashion and

music
News / Vogue arts / When the punk changed fashion and music

AUGUST 9, 2017 6:30 AM

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In the summer of 1977, the worlds of music and fashion changed

forever. Across both sides of the Atlantic, London and New York were
simultaneously teetering on the brink of socioeconomic collapse (London
was crippled by ceaseless IRA bombings and had Margaret
Thatcher imminently in power, whilst New York had the Son of
Sam killing spree, blackouts, looting and a city embroiled in chaos).

 
Suddenly sunshine-drenched backdrops of 70s optimism, floppy-haired
hippies and glitzy discos no longer resonated with the people, so the youth
reacted, and the impact was apocalyptic – it was Punk.

What followed was an unprecedented creative reaction against capitalism

and conformity of cataclysmic proportions that redefined an entire
generation of disgruntled youths. In a matter of weeks, over 14 of the
world’s most iconic punk albums were released back-to-back – London
had The Clash, The Damned and the Sex Pistols whilst NYC had
groundbreaking music from Johnny Thunders & The
Heartbreakers and The Ramones.

And naturally—as punk became the soundtrack for a dissatisfied

generation—the punk look became the uniform. In London, punk was a
class-system based rebellion: the bolder, more shocking, and more
disturbing the clothing, the better. Whilst in NYC, the movement was
about minimalism and earnest asceticism, take The Ramones for example,
who wore staple Americana-inspired tight blue jeans, white tees and black
leather jackets (ironically it wasn’t cool to dress differently from one
another in NYC, norm-core was the true rebellion).
MORE
Photo Vogue Festival 2018
by F R A N C E S C A M A R A N I

A day to dream

For women, punk represented an immense period of liberation: PVC and

S&M hardware became the norm and make-up was transformed from
technicolour disco glitter into ferocious slick black war paint, whilst hair
was cut short (inspired by Sid Vicious and Debbie Juvenile). Meanwhile,
for men, tight jeans and bondage straps, chokers, torn shirts, and safety
pins commanded the breaking down of gender boundaries and societal
norms .

“Punk was very exciting. The music was loud and fast. The clubs were
small, dark and sweaty and the punks themselves dangerous – or at least
that was the impression they wanted to give.” Says Derek Ridgers, iconic
punk photographer and Gucci collaborator, “And the girls, whether on
stage or off, were mostly bad girls. What was not to like?”
 

1977 also marked the first time a fashion designer put punk on the runway.
London designer Zandra Rhodes’ debut collection ‘Conceptual Chic’ was
comprised of heavily deconstructed jersey dresses—inspired by
Schiaparelli and adorned with fabric tears, chains and safety pins—and
courted a lot of controversy, “Rebellion was in the air and it made me want
to shake things up too.” Rhodes says, “No luxury designers were looking
to the streets for inspiration whereas that’s the standard now.”

It’s impossible to look at fashion today and not see the blueprints of punk.
Rei Kawakubo (known as the ‘mother of deconstruction’) has long-cited
punk as one of her key inspirations for Comme des Garçons.

Kawakubo—who was a frequent patron of Vivienne Westwood’s store

SEX, along with Yohji Yamamoto—has always shared aesthetic and
ideological similarities to Westwood, so unsurprisingly; there’s long been
mutual understanding and respect between the two designers. With
Westwood once telling Kawakubo, that she considers her a true “punk at
heart”, and Kawakubo giving a nod to Seditionaries-era Westwood in her
highly publicised 1982 Paris collection ‘Destroy’. But beyond the aesthetic
of leather jackets and deconstruction, it’s actually punk’s do-it-yourself
attitude that still resonates with today’s young designers.

With their oft-anarchistic graphic tees, off-schedule shows and no formal

training – many young streetwear designers cite punk’s nihilistic ingenuity
as a huge influence. “There will forever be something to rebel against.”
Says Shane Gonzales, of LA-based label Midnight Studios (who
counts Ashton Sanders, Travi$ Scott and A$AP Rocky as fans) “The free
spirit of punk is what keeps fashion alive. Without it we would have
nothing fresh or exciting. It doesn’t matter what music is coming out of the
speaker, punk gives us an identity.”

And in London, designer and fashion darling Charles Jeffrey—whose

delicate but theatrical designs for Loverboy echo the heady heydey of
London’s club kids—insists we need punk now more than ever, in a call to
action he says, “It means getting angry, and using it to do something good.
It’s about not eating what you’re fed – it’s about making something out of
nothing, doing things yourself and celebrating outsiders.”

Samira Larouci, Vogue Italia, August 2017, n.804, pag.152

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