Thoughts on PT 2

If I look to words rather than ideologies as to pre-existing sub-cultures, it will always come down to one for me. That word will always be Punk. Why? Because punk is, as high profile writer Jon Savage claimed, a 'bricolage' of almost every previous Western youth sub-culture: a summation of diverse and contrasting ideas which are influential in the construction of art. Punk is an attitude, it is in the way you wear something rather than what it is that you choose to wear. Punk challenges idealisms and refuses to conform to what is deemed the 'norm' so not to appease to the masses but, rather to appeal to an individual's sense of style and taste.

In a piece titled "The Death and Life of Punk, The Last Subculture, published in 2003 for The Subcultures Reader (Oxford), A Dylan Clark writes that, '(...) tribes of contemporary people who might be called punk (and who often refuse to label themselves) , their subculture is partly in revolt from the popular discourse of subculture, from what has become, in punk eyes, a commercialized form of safe, affected discontent - a series of consumed subjectivities, including pre-fabricated ‘Alternative’ looks.' His theory is in favour of my decision to opt for a more diverse label so not to restrict myself for entering any other territory in my endeavours into dressing.




It is the belief of Clark that, 'The classical subculture 'died' when it became the object of social inspection and nostalgia, and when it became so amenable to commodification, (...)In this climate, constrained by the discourse of subculture, derivation from the norm ain't what it used to be. Deviation from the norm seems, well, normal. It is allegedly common for a young person to choose a prefab subculture off the rack, wear it for a few years, then rejoin with the 'mainstream; marking their membership in a subculture.'

I deem Clark's insight to be an informed observation of what youth culture embodies in the modern day. I'm not convinced that in asking anybody that you would get an accurate and carefully considered definition or term for the umbrella underneath they dress, perhaps because we are less willing to accept that which we are. From experience, I believe that the only people able to convey a title for their style are those who have adopted it having seen it somewhere or on somebody else. 'And still parents get upset, people gawk, peers shudder and selves are recreated.'

Kris Van Assche AW13 Sweatsuit hybrid

Richard Nicoll AW13

Prada AW12

Could I call my style Industrial? A hybrid of industrial and grunge fashions perhaps. Grustrial. Although, there are hints of athleticism and bohemian undertones in my wardrobe too. I dress moreso for my body type, wearing shorter, bulkier silhouettes on my top so to give the appearance that my legs are longer in high waisted trousers, often with a straight leg, to balance out the heaviness. In terms of colour, industrial and grunge are both relevant words as I tend to wear darker hues: blues, greys, blacks and whites and more than often, tartans.