Punk fashion

The punk rock genre was a protest against mainstream music (or even pop culture in general), and the early punk fashion was demonstratively anti-materialistic. As a rule, in contrast to the hippie's long hair and fashionable disco artists' hairstyles, punks used short, untidy haircuts.

In the US, the group gave impetus to the Ramones , whose musicians were wearing dirty, casual clothes (later becoming more canonical) —shirts , jeans, and leather jackets — representing the style of the working class. Other American punk artists, New York Dolls and Patti Smith , used more expensive and colorful outfits close to members of disco and pop rock . In turn, members of the Television group wore short haircuts and torn clothes, at the suggestion of their then leader Richard Hull ^[3] .

In the UK, punk fashion influenced the work of Vivienne Westwood, Malcolm McLaren and Bromley Contingent , in particular, on clothing that was sold in the McLaren boutique under the name “SEX” ^[4] . According to the designer, the image of Richard Hull was strongly reflected in his work, which he learned about when he produced the New York Dolls group in New York . In the early punk scene, defiant T-shirts with offensive prints were very popular, such as the T-shirt with the inscription “DESTROY” from the SEX store, which showed an inverted crucifix and a Nazi swastika . Another popular T-shirt in the subculture was Snow White, which was raped by five dwarfs, and the two remaining engaged in anal sex (called "Snow White and the Sir Punks"). The drawing was part of the poster "Disneyland Memorial Orgy" , published by The Realist magazine in May 1967, although the scene on the T-shirt is depicted more frankly ^[5] . Such T-shirts, like other punk clothing items, were often torn intentionally. Other items in early British punk fashion included: leather jackets, blazers and shirts, covered with stripes and badges with various slogans (for example, “Only anarchists are good”), blood, stains and bold images.

Among other items of clothing popular in the punk subculture are: BDSM accessories; fishnet stockings (sometimes torn); spikes and other studded jewelery; safety pins (in clothing and piercings ); silver bracelets and various make-up - in particular, thick mascara eyes. Many women punks rebelled against conservative gender stereotypes, combining traditionally women's clothing with elements of men's clothes, for example, combining a tutu with bulky shoes . So, during the release of the album Dry Pee Harvey performed in leather clothes, black army boots and with a feminine beam on the head ^[6] .

Punk clothing sometimes included everyday items in order to achieve an aesthetic effect. Purposefully torn clothing was fastened with the help of pins or wrapped with garters; from black garbage bags made dresses, shirts and skirts. One of the symbols of the subculture became razor blades and chains, which were used by punks as accessories. Among the punks, clothing made of leather , rubber, and latex was popular, not least because of the prevalence in the subculture of unconventional sexual practices such as bondage and sadomasochism .

Punks preferred the following shoes: motorcycle boots , creepers , gym shoes ( Chuck Taylor All-Stars ), polukedam (Puma Clydes), as well as shoes of Dr. Martens . Also, in the subculture were popular: skinny jeans, bonded leather pants and bondage pants . Other early punks (primarily The Adicts ) imitated the heroes of the movie “ A Clockwork Orange, ” putting on suspenders and bowler hats . In the punk movement were messy hairstyles: short haircuts with dirty hair (which was done intentionally), often they are painted in bright, unnatural colors. Despite their provocation, these hairstyles were not as extreme as the later punk hairstyles.

In the 1980s, new punk subgenres emerged in the UK and the United States, many of which formed their own fashion. Subsequently, music experts recognized that classic punk images became a reflection of the fashion of this particular period - when such directions as Oi! Appeared in punk ! and street punk as well as UK82 . At the same time, in the United States formed a hardcore punk , which represented such groups as: Black Flag , Minor Threat and Fear , who became the ancestors of utilitarian anti -fashion - more simple, everyday clothes. Nevertheless, despite the evolution of the genre, some elements characteristic of the 1970s punk have been preserved in the later fashion of this subculture.

Although the punks had similar garments in both America and Europe, some geographic areas had specific style elements. Among the most common punk shoes in the 1980s were: Dr. boots. Martens, motorcycle boots and army boots ; sometimes shoes were decorated with bandanas , chains or studded strips of leather. As outerwear were common: jeans (often dirty, torn or colored with bleach), tartan kilts and leather skirts , which became a popular element of clothing among women punks. Sometimes thick chains were used as belts. The belts decorated with sleeves and studs also became common (sometimes they were dressed several at the same time).

With the help of markers, some punks put various political slogans, group names and phrases associated with this musical direction on their T-shirts. Although such things existed in the 1970s, it was in the next decade that they acquired their complete, canonical appearance. Also, in the subculture, T-shirts with factory prints containing images or slogans associated with punk were popular. In addition, in this decade, various variations of leather jackets and denim waistcoats became widespread, which caused a decline in the popularity of blazers. Changes in style were also reflected in punk hairstyles: shaved hair (Oi style!), “Hedgehog” became popular as well as studded and classical Iroquois , which became a symbol of the subculture. High Iroquois and studded hairstyles, with brightly colored hair, became more extreme than in the 1970s. Also appeared hairstyles with raised “hair” hair, not distributed in separate spikes. In addition, the devilock hairstyle has become popular among horror punk groups The Misfits groups, when they left only a long bunch of hair on the front of the head. In the 1980s, piercing and tattoos of various subjects, but most often of large volume, became widespread. Also, during this period, another classic punk element appeared - the studded choker . In turn, some women protested the glam trend of the late 1970s, forming more androgynous images.

The performers of hardcore-punk formed their own image style, which included: T-shirts, jeans, army boots or sneakers , as well as a hedgehog haircut. Among the women of this trend were common: army pants, t-shirts and hooded sweaters ^[7] . The style of the 1980s hardcore scene contrasted with the more provocative fashion of punk rockers of the late 1970s (complex hairstyles, torn clothes, pins, hairpins, spikes, etc.). Circle Jerks singer Keith Morris described early hardcore fashion: “... for the most part the punk scene was based on British fashion, but we had nothing to do with it. Black Flag and The Circle Jerks were very far from that. We looked like guys who worked at a gas station or in a diner ” ^[8] . A similar opinion was expressed by Black Flag frontman Henry Rollins , noting that the concert outfit is “a black T-shirt and some dark pants”; according to Rollins, the fashion aspect in music was an optional abstraction ^[9] . In turn, Jimmy Gestapo from the group Murphy's Law explained the motivation for changing his punk image (studded hairstyle and bondage belt) to hardcore (shaved head and army boots) for practical reasons, since such clothes were more functional and comfortable ^[7] . According to some music experts, “hardcore fans are not like punks,” because adherents of the hardcore scene wore casual clothes and short haircuts, unlike “exotic leather jackets and trousers,” which were popular with punks ^[10] .

Nevertheless, some musical historians have described hardcore fashion in a different way, so according to Lorain Leblanc, standard clothing of representatives of this subculture includes: ripped jeans, leather jackets, studded wristbands and collars, as well as Iroquois and various stripes with the names of groups and political slogans ^[11] . Another musical expert claims that the initial appearance of the participants in the San Francisco hardcore scene consisted of: leather biker jackets, chains, studded bracelets, piercings, as well as tattoos with various punk symbols (for example, anarchy) and hair styles in the hedgehog style and mohawk ^[12] .

• Fetish fashion
• Gothic fashion
• Heavy metal-mod

• "Punk and the Swastika" , The Summer of Hate (webzine)
• DIY Punk Fashion DIY Clothing, accessories and jewelry.
• "1970s Punk Fashion History Development" by Pauline Weston Thomas, Fashion-Era.com , 2007.