IN 2016, UK, AND TOGETHER WITH IT AND THE WHOLE WORLD, CELEBRATES 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF PUNK ROCK. DIRECTION, SHOCKING LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, UNIQUE: IT NOT ONLY BEEN ABLE TO BECOME A GUIDING POINT FOR MANY MUSICAL CURRENTS, BUT AND GOT INTO INDIRECT CULTURAL SPHERES, INCLUDING INCLUDED.
Mirror
Punks wore Iroquois, dyed their hair bright, mottled themselves with piercings and tattoos, thickly let down their black eyes, flaunted their jackets, things with provocative slogans and prints, torn, worn and low-sitting jeans, took a step that was not always hard due to alcohol in heavy boots or sneakers. They loved skin, images of skulls, an abundance of chains, spikes, rivets, pins. Welcomed the "jewelry" in the form of collars and wristbands. The “do it yourself” culture professed by them extended also to clothing: everyone could bring ordinary jeans or a T-shirt into the corresponding provocative look. Nothing else was left: there were no specialized "punk" stores in the mid-70s in stiff London. Except for one: Vivienne Westwood’s store and her then-civil husband, Malcolm McLaren, under the banner of “Sex.”
Two queens
Vivienne herself punk, breathing in the fresh breeze of the subculture after the hippies, who were disgusted, joined the others, offering nihilists the appropriate outfits. The designer has done everything for an alternative trend in terms of fashion! Actually, she came up with the image that today is associated with punks. Vivienne was the first to build a “hedgehog” on her head from bleached hair, modernized an ordinary T-shirt, tearing off sleeves and struts shoulder seams, offered progressive youth all this tearing, chains and collars. It was she who instilled in the punks a passion for red tartan and the British flag.
Maclaren, by the way, was the manager and co-founder of the legendary Sex Pistols - the group is considered a pioneer, a pillar of British punk. Westwood, of course, was developing the style of this bully gang. Their single "God Save the Queen" provoked a scandal in 1977. For Vivienne, the composition became an occasion to release an iconic T-shirt that depicted Elizabeth II with her lips pierced by an English pin.
Later, the designer will say: “While Sex Pistols and punk rock were so popular, I did not think of myself as a fashion designer. We just opened a store where for the first time we tried to make clothes for guys playing such music and their girlfriends.” How did it all end years later? Nicknamed the "Queen of Punk", world recognition and the Order of the British Empire from the hands of the same Elizabeth II.
Westwood herself released her first name collection under the Vivienne Westwood label later in 1981. And in it, of course, sounded punk notes. But gradually they sounded quieter. Today, to understand the depth of the ideological gap, it is enough to say that the author’s style is defined as “historical romanticism” and “eclecticism”. But the fashion designer is still true to the shocking philosophy. Periodically, succumbing to nostalgia, she releases punk lines. Or, with completely "wearable" images, it easily smudges the faces of models with soot or smears red lipstick on them. As for the Ladies-Commander of the British Empire (this title was assigned to the Westwood Order) as an individual, then the slogan "Punk's not dead" is also recalled. She also surprises with her antics, social and political protests and statements, extravagance of appearance.
Exit to the podium
While Vivienne was dressing punk “bottoms” in her Sex shop, her more adventurous compatriot Zandra Rhodes swung at the “tops” in 1978: a better-off audience, just following a fashion trend. She was the first to release the commercial punk collection Conceptual Chic. In it, according to the dramaturgy, there were safety pins, chains, torn things. And away we go: today a rare brand does without direct or indirect quotes of the rebel style. Moreover: punk has risen to the very top of the fashionable Olympus, having been noted in the collections of high sewing art. The concepts of “punk shik” and “punk couture” appeared.
Jean-Paul Gaultier, John Galliano, Junia Watanabe, Philippe Plain are contemporary designers, noted for their frequent interpretation of the punk revolution. Gauthier is a classic of alternative fashion art. Once upon a time, the Iroquois and anti-materialism of youth impressed him so much on Trafalgar Square that he famously mixed his style with fateful allusions, the tandem of luxury and marginality, mixing gender roles. Like punk itself at one time, it shocked the townsfolk. John Galliano has always been distinguished by his love for broadcasting subcultures on the catwalk. He created the haute couture Christian Dior collection for the Fall-Winter 2006/2007 season, inspired by the rock star Susie Sue. Today, the master is working for Maison Margiela. So House, his creative director and punk have a lot in common: eccentricity, destructivism, individualism.
Calendar requirements
Of course, punk aesthetics in the modern fashion industry is present not in its pure classical form, but in refined. This is polished punk. The same Zandra Rhodes, after her first collection, admitted: "Any self-respecting real punk would have nothing to do with me." But these are the realities: rulers are created for a wide audience, so you need to balance. The master virtuoso of such a balancing act is the Philipp Plein brand. He doesn’t just address the topic of punk rock regularly - he has already written it in his DNA. Jeremy Scott for Moschino also went all season this season. His prints with Barbie and french fries were replaced by more aggressive rock images.
But most of all was impressed by Alexander Wang. After working at Balenciaga, this designer now only deals with his brand. What can I say? Now his heroine rebels against the classic taste. “Ignore obsolete taboos and clichés,” the fashion designer calls on the backstage. We, in turn, recall those who in the 70s resented public calm and went against the rules. And we find in the Alexander Wang collection leather goods of all stripes, decorated with chains, torn jeans and shorts, daring versions of tweed suits a la Chanel, studded ankle boots, heavy boots ... His gaze rests on the painted hemp leaves - Wang thought through everything to the smallest detail!
Text: Marina Motor
