When you think of punk, you quickly think of mohawks, loud music and young people who are somewhat outside of society. Punk was a movement that emerged in the mid-1970s and rebelled against the established order. This was often expressed in striking clothing and hairstyle and their own music movement. Shocking was highly valued by punks.
The origins of Punk
The followers of Punk oppose the established society and the prevailing ideologies. The individual was central. The name punk stands for ‘ scum ‘ or ‘ scum ‘. Punk emerged in the United States in the late 1970s as a reaction to modern pop music, which in the eyes of the punks (punks in English) was too artificial, but soon spread to Europe. Musicians tried to revive the authentic underground of the 1960s. There was great dissatisfaction among many young people, especially in class-conscious England, and this, like other periods, was expressed in music. Young people do not feel taken seriously and music becomes an outlet. The music can be seen as a rough form of rock. In 1970, it was Nick Tosches who first associated the word punk with this form of pop music. It is the Englishman Malcolm McLaren who becomes manager of the Sex Pistols, perhaps the most famous punk band ever, who launches a media campaign that a large part of the British youth can identify with.
Punk and the Establishment
The aversion to the established order played an important role in punk culture. This aversion was reflected in a do-it-yourself mentality, which prevented the punks from using established stores, publishers and record companies. Anarchism had great appeal to many punks. Punks oppose the ruling class and mindlessly following the status quo. An important slogan: No Future. This was also related to the prevailing Cold War and the associated arms race. Many punks took part in demonstrations, including against nuclear weapons, something that was very important during this period. Punks tended to advocate equality of races, classes, and sexes.
Fashion and Punk
Clothing was important in the punk movement, it was a statement, just like the music. Punk clothing was recognizable by several characteristics:
- torn and torn clothes
- use of chains, studs and safety pins
- leather clothing, often with slogans painted on it, or images of punk bands
- military clothing and footwear
- tight trousers
- net shirts and stockings
- tiger and leopard prints, tartans (the tartan pattern, because it was banned for a long time)
The hair also received a lot of attention. The most famous is the mohawk (mohawk in English), but there were also several other popular hairstyles and brightly colored hair (red, purple, etc.). In addition, a lot of make-up was used, a lot of black, but for women and girls often bright colors around the eyes. Tattoos were also popular, often applied by themselves. In the 1970s, Vivienne Westwood started selling special punk clothing in her store SEX.
Sex and Drugs and Rock ‘n Roll
Drinking and drug use among punks was quite high. There was also openness about these matters and openness about sexuality. Many punks lived in squats and had no work, they spent much of their time listening to music, using drugs and alcohol and often participated in demonstrations and riots aimed at the established order.
Punk Today
What remains of the punk movement today is mainly the clothing style. And even that is no longer what it used to be, where punks used to be creative by making their own clothes and buying second-hand clothes, nowadays it is a kind of chic punk, which is available ready-made, with often expensive chains and other accessories.