Hello.
Bikers on hefty Harleys are not the only subculture of the two-wheeled family. There are several more branches of evolution, some of which turned out to be dead ends. This article will focus on the Mods, a youth subculture of the 50s that originated in Great Britain and used scooters as a means of transportation and an object of worship.
Yes, and I don’t give a damn if anyone out there doesn’t like scooter riders! Fashion was one of the most stylish subcultures and for its time was quite a powerful movement, quite competing with the subculture!
So, let's go!
The term "Mod" comes from the word "modernism". The Mod subculture began in the 1950s in London and reached its peak by the mid-1960s. Mods were a youth subculture that had special requirements for appearance. Initially, clothing preference was given to tailored suits, later - just suits from Italian and British brands.
As for music, preferences were given to American soul, SKA, beat and R&B. In addition to the fact that representatives of this subculture were primarily associated with the consumption of huge amounts of amphetamines and noisy parties in London clubs, they rode scooters.
Story.
The Mods were a youth subculture consisting of representatives of the working class who were oriented toward Italian fashion. The Mods would get together on scooters and hang out in clubs or cafes in London, since Pubs at that time closed at around 11:00 pm, and cafes were open until the morning and, in addition, there were jukeboxes.
The mods were not united, they did not have some kind of unifying idea, there were no clubs like the Outlaw motorcycle club of bikers, where the ideas of brotherhood and unity of the motorcycle club were promoted. They were just young people who gathered at night and partied until the morning. And yet, they left a mark on history with their bright appearance and unique tuning of their scooters.
By the summer of 1966, the Mod movement had already lost momentum. Not only did a stronger and more massive hippie movement emerge, and some of the Mods got off amphetamine and switched to weed :), but clothing fashion also underwent significant changes. And in the late 60s, the most radical representatives of this subculture also branched off from the Mods, calling themselves skinheads... Somehow even strange against the backdrop of general hippie sentiments...
That's how everything fell apart. Then there were several revivals in the 1980s and 2000s, but these were already short-term phenomena; nevertheless, it must be admitted that the Mod subculture died out in the 60s.
Characteristic features of the Modov style.
Fashion.
The Mods were formed from the first post-war generation that had a small surplus of money. Intentionally elegant clothing - suits for men and short skirts for girls, this is a natural reaction to the hardships that their parents had to endure.
Clubs and music.
Clubs: The Roaring Twenties, The Scene, La Discothèque, The Flamingo and The Marquee in London.
Music: The Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds and the Kinks and, of course, The Who.
Scooters.
Well, we finally got to motor scooters, which is why Mods ended up on this site.
Mods used Italian scooter brands such as Vespa or Lambretta. Since the Mods consisted of working-class youth, for many these scooters were the only way to escape from the drabness of everyday life.
Modov scooters were subjected to strong, but not expensive external tuning. Their scooters were painted in two colors, and they often had chewing gum candy wrappers stuck to them. Windshields were traditionally marked with the owner's name.
And, of course, the most characteristic feature of the subculture was the abundance of tourist trunks, arches and fog lights on scooters.
The influence of subcultures on fashion cannot be overestimated - there is no need to dwell on the role of fashion, glam rock, punk and the Vivienne Westwood party of the 70s, hip-hop and or grunge of the 90s. Many designers from the mid-1960s to the present day are inspired by the style of individual communities united cultural code, ideology and appearance (the fashion industry has always strived to unite people in this way). Now completely non-obvious examples are being used. We talk about lesser-known but influential subcultures - from Mexican cholos to psychedelic adepts of the 1970s - and how they influenced today's fashion trends.
Text: Alena Belaya
Cholo
The roots of the Cholo subculture are in the young generation of immigrants from Mexico who settled in the United States a generation or two ago. Initially, the term was used to refer to the local population of South and Central America, but in the 1960s, “cholo” began to refer to the working class of Mexicans living in the States and representatives of their movement for civil rights Chicano Movement. Actually, at the same time, in the 1960s, the designation “cholo” was picked up by criminal youth and began to be used for self-identification - this is how an independent subculture was formed.
At first, only guys belonged to the cholo, they wore baggy pants, alcoholic T-shirts and sports sneakers (still among the popular cholo brands are Dickies, Ben Davis and Lowrider), but gradually the girls also picked up the style. In fact, the female version of the cholo differs only in make-up: arched tattooed eyebrows, outlined dark pencil lips, cat eyes, plus - characteristic hairstyle with a high bouffant over the forehead and a manicure that Lena Lenina herself would envy.
Cholo as a subculture has taken a lot from underground hip-hop, so chola girls hang themselves with gold trinkets of varying degrees for their sweet souls (but guys, by the way, not so much). Gradually, from the urban culture of low-income areas of Los Angeles and San Diego, the cholo subculture became mainstream, which was picked up first in pop culture (Fergie and Gwen Stefani were among the first), then in fashion. As a result, stylist Mel Ottenberg creates a chola girl out of Rihanna, Dazed & Confused magazine shoots in the cholo spirit, and designers dedicate collections to chola girls - just remember Rodarte and Nasir Mazhar for the spring-summer 2014 season.
LGBT hip-hop
LGBT hip-hop, or, as it is also called, homo-hop, appeared at the dawn of the 1990s in California. Initially, homo-hop was not positioned as a separate musical direction, but served to designate the LGBT community on the hip-hop scene. The term itself was introduced by Tim'm T. West, a member of the Deep Dickollective team. Having loudly declared itself in the 1990s, homo-hop died down for a while at the beginning of the new millennium (with the exception, perhaps, of the documentary “Pick Up the Mic” with the participation of the main homo-hop artists of our time), only to be revived with the advent of the 2010s.
The new generation of hip-hop artists not only did not hide their unconventional sexual orientation(Frank Ocean became one of the first African-American performers to come out, and Azealia Banks does not hide her bisexual inclinations), but also actively, often in lyrics, supported the LGBT movement. It is noteworthy that initially homo-hoppers, in general, did not have any special distinctive signs in terms of clothing, and straight artists flirted with drag culture: from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five to World Class Wreckin’ Cru. Nevertheless, some conservatives are confident that Kanye West and Trinidad James, who perform in skirts, are the result of the spread of the gay movement in the hip-hop ranks, and no worse than Rihanna, who twerks in microshorts and bicycle shorts Le1f- a living example of discrimination against masculinity in general and in hip-hop in particular.
Men's fashion in last years generally strives to gradually erase gender boundaries - starting with the main conductor street culture into the luxury industry by Riccardo Tisci, who brought male models onto the catwalk in skirts, ending the last men's shows. For example, Loewe under the leadership of the new creative director Jonathan Anderson or the absolutely wonderful Christophe Lemaire, after viewing which the girls create impressive wishlists.
Casuals
Casuals emerged from the British subculture in the late 1980s, when football hooligans abandoned fan uniforms in favor of designer items and expensive sportswear to avoid attracting police attention. The style that casuals began to exploit appeared much earlier - back in the days of the teddy boys of the 1950s and the mods of the early 1960s. Having collected and digested the subcultural heritage of their predecessors, casuals developed their own visual formula: straight-leg Fiorucci jeans, adidas, Gola or Puma sneakers, Lacoste polo shirt and Gabicci cardigan.
It is believed that from the European street fashion London hooligans of that time were introduced by fans football club“Liverpool”, who accompanied their favorite team on all European trips and brought from their trips heaps of clothes from expensive sports brands (at that time - adidas or Sergio Tacchini). In the late 1990s, football fans gradually moved away from the original casual look, and expensive designer brands, in turn, removed items associated with casual from sale (in particular, Burberry faced a problem with their signature check).
The movement began to experience another upsurge in the mid-2000s, and nowadays casuals are not even always devoted football fans, but the look is still the same as it was at the dawn: skinny jeans, a Palace T-shirt, a classic Reebok model. This image (let’s call it “laconic and neat”) can now be seen on Topman mannequins, and on the catwalks of Burberry Prorsum and Paul Smith, and in the subcultural context, lad casual is called a substitute for ultra-masculine heritage and sloppy hipsterism.
We have already talked more than once about how great the influence of sports is on modern fashion: things that were originally intended for working out in a fitness club now fit quite organically into the urban environment, and heels are giving way to comfortable shoes like sneakers, sneakers and slip-ons. The history of the interpenetration of fashion and sports can be observed from mid-19th century: in 1849, the Water-ure Journal published an article calling on women to abandon the heavy crinolines that were fashionable at the time in favor of clothes that would give more freedom of movement. Two years later, the famous feminist Amelia Bloomer appeared in public wearing a knee-length skirt and wide pants like Turkish bloomers, later named after her - bloomers.
However, bloomers experienced a real boom only in the 1890s, when women began to master cycling, which was then popular. Further echoes of the sports theme appeared in the collections of Gabrielle Chanel (the same jersey material and models inspired by the tennis uniform), and Elsa Schiaparelli (her collection Pour le Sport), and later - Emilio Pucci (clothing for skiing), Yves Saint Laurent (hunting suit, in particular the Norfolk jacket), Azzedine Alaïa and Roy Halston (bikini top), Karl Lagerfeld (surfing spring-summer 1991 collection for Chanel), Donna Karan (early 1990s neoprene dresses) and many others.
Separately, in this chronology it is worth highlighting the 1970s - the era when sports became an important and fashionable part of the lifestyle. By the end of the decade, everyone was literally obsessed with aerobics and jogging, not only for objective health reasons, but also because it was considered sexy, and fashion, in turn, became the platform where sports and sex merged into a single whole. Thus, in the field of fashion design, fleece, lycra, terry, polyurethane, parachute fabric began to be actively used, and girls wore plastic visors as a fashion accessory.
With the beginning of the new century, sports continued to run like a red thread through fashion collections almost every season, but the next serious wave of popularity came in 2012, which many associate, in particular, with the London Olympics. With enviable popularity, collaborations between sports brands and fashion designers began to appear: adidas with Stella McCartney, Jeremy Scott and Mary Katrantzou, Nike with Riccardo Tisci, and the catwalks were clearly influenced by sports style - just remember the collections of the same Stella for the FW 2012 seasons. 2013 and SS 2013, Alexander Wang for his own brand in the SS12 season and this spring for Balenciaga, Givenchy as the main promoter of sweatshirts of all stripes, Prada and Emilio Pucci for the SS14 season. In general, the list can be continued endlessly. One thing is obvious - everything together has led to the fact that today sportswear is widely perceived as inseparable from everyday life.
Psychedelia
Psychotropic drugs became part of subcultural life in the USA and Great Britain in the mid-1960s: in general, the ideology of psychedelic adherents was expressed in opposition to the Western world of consumerism and, naturally, an attempt to escape from reality. After the “Summer of Love” that happened in 1967, the counterculture finally took shape in the hippie movement, which elevated not only the principles of peace and love into a cult, but also the widespread use of psychotropic substances, such as LSD.
Being in a state of altered consciousness, in particular, implied a hypertrophied perception of colors, textures and pictures and significantly influenced the formation of a typical hippie image and the development of graphics: acidic shades, smooth, seemingly flowing silhouettes, and textured fabrics were used. By the way, the popularity of the traditional Indian paisley pattern was explained by the same thing - during a drug trip, multi-colored “cucumbers” formed into cool pictures. In short, all clothing techniques served to make psychedelic experiences even more spectacular.
The main purveyors of psychedelic fashion were the Paraphernalia boutiques in New York and Granny Takes a Trip in London, where items designed by Thea Porter, Zandra Rhodes, Jean Muir and Ozzy Clark were sold. The legacy of psychedelics can be considered the raver movement of the late 1980s with its acid colors T-shirts, hellish tie-dye and plastic jewelry - all these tricks were once adopted by both Franco Moschino and Gianni Versace.
The modern fashion of psychedelic aesthetics has also not been spared - mostly in the form of neon colors, which since 2007 began to appear in collections with enviable consistency. However, not only them: if you think about it, the much-loved (today, however, not so much) kaleidoscopic digital prints are nothing more than echoes of the psychedelic-friendly patterns of the 1970s, as well as the return of tie-dye items and the style of the 70s generally. In particular, the widespread use of optical prints in the autumn collections of this year.
Mods– a youth subculture based on fashion and music. The movement originated in London, UK, in the late 1950s and peaked in the mid-1960s. This subculture of Great Britain in the 1960s. replaced the Teddy Boys. If the latter symbolized an attempt to return to the values of a working guy, then the goal of the “mods” was to create a dapper “hippie” image. Fashions arose on the basis of the “modernist” movement, copying the clothing style of young American blacks. The Mods came from families of professional, highly paid workers and employees. We focused on white-collar work (clerk in a bank, store, etc.). The motto of the mods is “Moderation and accuracy!” Narrow shirt collars, elegant jackets, pointed shoes, always white socks and neat short hairstyles. The metaphor for the mods' lifestyle was speed: Italian scooters, amphetamine (the mods were the first English subculture with the attributable use of psychostimulant drugs), dancing. Work didn't matter to mods; vanity was a positive quality.
The main types of mods: "Hard-mod" - in jeans, rough work boots (an aggressive style that later gave rise to the skinhead style). "Scooterist" - scooter owners, wearing jeans and jackets with hoods. The main group is in suits, neat, in tight trousers, polished shoes, accompanied by elegant, decorous girls with short hair.
The main word in the fashion lexicon is obsessed. This obsession was also in music - they listened to modern jazz, blues, soul, Jamaican music.
The image of “fashion” with its mass character prepared a short-term phenomenon, which in the mid-sixties would be called “ swinging London." In 1963-65, the famous confrontation between rockers and mods began in the seaside towns of England, and up to a thousand people sometimes participated in mass fights on both sides (the rockers came from poor backgrounds and listened to hard rhythm and blues, such as Rolling Stones").
In 1964 the "mod" movement split into "heavy mods" (work boots, short jeans, short hair, amphetamine aggressiveness) and stylistically sophisticated mods. By the end of the 60s, the “skinheads” subculture was formed from the “cool mods”. In 1968 The mod movement died out.
Rockers appeared in the mid-60s and reached their peak in the late 60s and early 70s, both in England and on the continent. Rockers come primarily from families of unskilled workers, without education, and often from single-parent and “problematic” families. Rocker clothes - Leather Jacket, worn jeans, rough big shoes, long hair combed back, sometimes tattoos. The jacket is usually decorated with badges and inscriptions. The main element of the rocker subculture is the motorcycle, which is also decorated with inscriptions, symbols and images. Rock music occupies an important place in the rocker subculture; listening to records is one of the main activities of rockers. One of the manifestations of this style is the use of nicknames and the popularity of “physical” methods of communication.
Rude boys, rudies (two-color)- a semi-criminal subculture of the African diaspora that arose in the slums of Jamaica. In the early 1960s. The Rude Boys subculture was brought to Britain by a wave of immigration. Musical style: “reggae” (Bob Marley). Reggae is gradually becoming a pop culture phenomenon. Numerous African motifs became the distant basis of “reggae”. The first peak of popularity of Jamaican youth culture in the UK occurred in 1969-71. “Rudiz” gave the “skinheads” not only music, but also a way of dressing and slang. Distinctive features: smoking marijuana, worshiping Bob Marley, using the green-yellow-red color combination, dreadlocks.
Swinging London, psychedelics - 1966–1967. In the second half of the 1960s. a special psychedelic culture spread. The boom in the use of psychedelics (LSD, hallucinogens, drugs) occurred in the mid-60s. and is associated primarily with the activities of Timothy Leary, a professor of psychology at Harvard University, who widely used LSD in his work with students, as well as American writer Ken Kesey. Since 1966 first began to be used in relation to youth culture the term “psychedelia”. And suddenly it became entrenched in the youth lexicon - the design of posters and records, strange clothes and music - everything became “psychedelic”. Psychedelic culture is associated with psychedelic music. Includes both music created under the influence of psychedelics, and that to which listeners are predisposed under their influence. Psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock) is a musical genre that emerged in the mid-60s. V Western Europe and in California (San Francisco and Los Angeles). Characteristic feature psychedelic rock became long solo parts of leading instruments. Live performances by bands in this genre are usually accompanied by a striking visual show using lights, smoke, video installations and other effects (The Doors, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett, Rolling Stones).
In the summer of 1964, the writer Ken Kesey, author of the novel “Flying over cuckoo's nest”, founds a commune in San Francisco "Merry Pranksters" They buy an old school bus, fill it with records, movie cameras and the then-legal hallucinogen LSD, the effects of which Kesey became familiar with back in the mid-fifties (he offered himself psychiatric clinic as a “guinea pig” to test the effects of new hallucinogenic drugs), and set off on a journey across America to “stop the end of the world.” Thus began the “Psychedelic Revolution”.
Became the leader-theorist of psychedelists Harvard University Professor Timothy Leary, who founded with his followers “League of Spiritual Discoveries”" Leary's ideas: psychedelic substances are the only thing for western man a means of enlightenment, and they absolutely ignored their negative impact on an unstable psyche, not to mention the social consequences of their use.
Hippie(“fashionable, stylish”) - youth subculture, popular in the US and UK in the 1960s and 1970s, protesting against conventional morality through propaganda free love and pacifism (their main protest was directed against the Vietnam War).
In the 40s-50s of the XX century in the USA among representatives of the “broken generation” (beatniks) there was a term hipsters, denoting jazz musicians, and then the bohemian counterculture that formed around them. The hippie culture of the 60s developed from the beat culture of the 50s, paralleling the development of rock and roll from jazz.
1. Passive resistance, non-violence.
2. Movement, hippies hitchhiked through Europe, Asia, Latin America. Domestic travel associated with drug use, meditation, oriental mysticism.
3. Expressiveness, creative search.
4. Hippies created many communes (the most famous commune today is in Denmark - Free City of Christiania).
5. Identification via age group. Young people consider themselves part of a generation, and not of any organization. Authorities and heroes are not recognized.
6. The desire for openness, to comprehend all aspects of feelings, motives and fantasies.
Because hippies often wore flowers in their hair, gave flowers to passers-by and inserted them into the gun muzzles of policemen and soldiers, and used the slogan “ Flower Power” (“strength”, or “power of flowers”), they began to be called “children of flowers”. In Britain, the Flower Generation was called the New Society.
In the 1970s, the hippie movement gradually began to lose popularity.
Skinheads –(English) skinheads, from skin- skin and head- head) is the name of representatives of the youth subculture that formed in London in 1969. Skinheads copied the style of the “heavy mods”: heavy high-laced boots, wide trousers with suspenders or cropped jeans, rough jackets, white T-shirts, shaved heads. Skinhead ideas of the 60s: defense of the traditions of the working-class community, fight against Asians, hippies. Skinheads were fans of “black music”, reggae.
From 1965 to 1968, an “incubation” period occurs in the history of “skinheads”. In 1968 Skinheads were ardent football fans. In 1972 some skinheads let their hair grow long and wore black windbreakers, wide-brimmed hats and black umbrellas (“slicked skinheads”). In 1978 There is a split in the skinheads camp. Some skinheads began to join nationalist groups.
Main skinhead groups:
Traditional skinheads ( Traditional Skinheads) - arose as a reaction to the emergence of political branches from the original subculture. Their goal is to follow the image of the first skinheads - the unofficial slogan can be considered “apolitical.” Closely related to reggae music.
"Skinheads against racial prejudice" They appeared in America in the 1980s as the opposite of far-right skinheads, but without political background. "Detachments of vengeance, justice and brotherhood."
“Reds” and anarcho-skinheads, ideas of socialism, communism, anarchism.
Boneheads ( Boneheads) - National Socialist skinheads, are protégés of the British National Front party. Promoted by the right and far right Political Views and values. Appeared in 1982. In Great Britain. Then the symbolism of the Celtic Cross was first borrowed and the image of an Aryan skinhead crusader was formed - a street soldier of the “holy racial war” against numerous immigrants from third world countries, beggars, homeless people, drug addicts, left-wing and left-wing radical youth.
Yippie- a political movement that arose in 1967 in the USA. Founder Abbie Hoffman. They professed the ideas of anarchism and anti-capitalism. The Yippies did not want to recognize any authorities, any rules - everyone is their own authority. The Yippies had no leaders. The ultimate goal of the Yippies is to end the lack of will of the hippies and unite in the fight against the system. According to its leaders, the Yippies were a hippie political movement.
30. Youth subculture of the USA and Great Britain in the 1970s. .
In the early 1970s. transition period in the youth movement. Rock ceased to fulfill the main function of expressing alternativeness, the protest movement faded away. There were rockers, skinheads, the hippie movement died out, the rise of ruddies, and Rastafari.
Originated in Britain progressive rock(“Pink Floyd”, etc.) – progressiveness here meant the use of non-traditional musical forms in constructing compositions.
Funk – direction of African-American pop music, closely related to social status black population of the USA. Funk is an independent movement within soul music that appeared in 1967. Since the 70s, soul and funk have developed quite independently in the USA, being opposed to white guitar rock music.
Distinctive feature– moving bass lines, clear rhythms and short melodic patterns. Appeared in the black ghettos of America. Reasons for its appearance: music (crime) was the only opportunity to achieve success for African Americans. He was played ( main performers: George Clinton, Sly Stone, “Funkadelic” and “Parliament”) at first only in black clubs. The slogan of the funks is “One nation, united in one impulse.” The most powerful and influential figure in funk music was James Brown.
Glam– youth subculture of the 1970s. Glam rock is a genre of rock music that originated in Great Britain in the early 1970s. Its performers were characterized by a bright image, exotic costumes, and abundant use of makeup ( David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Marc Bolan). They insisted that improving their appearance was part of a continuation of the “cultural revolution” of the sixties. Played a key role in this process most popular performers early seventies - Marc Bolan and David Bowie.The latter created the image of “Space Travelers”. “Glam” and “funk” were similar in their rejection of the “hippies” with their idea of “back to nature”, to which they put forward their own alternative - an appeal to the theme of “space”.
Funk, glam: flourished in the mid-70s, disappeared due to the emergence of punks.
Headbangers (metalheads) is a youth subculture that emerged in the 1970s. The “metal” style combined features of the hippie movement (long hair, fringe, jeans), “psychedelics” (badges, colorful drawings) and “rocker” “leather” style.
Punks – subculture that emerged in 1976 in the UK, in the USA, which is characterized by a love of fast and energetic rock music and freedom. Founders of the punk movement in Great Britain: Malcolm McLaren ( Sex Pistols) and Vivian Westwood.
Members of this subculture violated social rules. The punk subculture is associated with musical current"punk rock". Musical origins Punk went back to the work of John Cage, minimalism, rock music of the New York Dales, Lou Reed. Punks represented the opposition to hippies. Punks are a musical protest against official rock music that has moved away from harsh reality. A spokesman for disillusioned youth. Musically, it is the most primitive form of rock throughout its existence, since attention is paid, first of all, to the lyrics.
The main features of the punk subculture: apoliticism, protest against everything, shockingness, deliberate rudeness, clothing style: black slanted leather jackets and jackets. Motto: “everyone who wants to play”, “there is no future.” The main style goal of “punks” is limitless possibilities of self-expression . Punks in Britain came from the lower strata of society, with a small number representing the professional working class. In New York, punk culture was an alternative middle-class culture. In the US, punk culture was not particularly popular (unlike in the UK) due to the appeal of hippie ideas. The reasons for the appearance of punks in England: another conflict between generations, awareness of the inconsistency of most of the “hippie” ideas of the sixties; rising unemployment and general economic stagnation. Since 1977 punk culture began to spread in the USA, Japan, and Europe.
Young people never want to be “like everyone else.” It is not surprising that it was in England, which gave the world the highest quality rock in the world (and then pop music, of course, but that is a separate story), that the very concept of “subculture” was born in the 50s. Although the “subculture” usually expresses the strictly opposite ideas of morality and the laws of society, young people who wanted self-expression also needed to somehow distinguish “us” from “outsiders”, dividing themselves according to musical, fashion and even life preferences. This phenomenon became especially widespread after the end of the war, when 70% of the young and cocky joined one group or another.
TEDS (or TEDDIS)
Teds (also known as “hipsters” in the Soviet Union) appeared in the wake of the popularity of rock and roll in the 50s. Especially, of course, American rock and roll and British stars like Adam Faith and Cliff Richard. The style of clothing they chose was “Edwardian,” which meant: a well-cut knee-length coat, pipe trousers, velvet collars, suede (or patent leather) pointed shoes and a lot of gel on the hair to “put the right” hairstyle. Ted girls wore pleated or pencil skirts, jeans rolled up to the knees, white shirts or tight T-shirts, elegant small handbags and neckerchiefs. It is not surprising that the Teds, even those not from very wealthy families, became regulars at tailors on Civil Row.
FASHIONS (or MODERNISTS)
In the 60s, the Tads were replaced by the Fashions, choosing their style as a mix of jazz modernists of the 50s and the tradition of not very wealthy people dressing more expensively than they could afford. Essentially, the Mods sought to appear as middle-class businessmen. They wore exclusively Italian or custom-made clothes, had their hair cut at Vidal Sasun salons and drove Vespa scooters. In fact, the Mods were the forerunners of modern hipsters. By the way, we owe the fashion for skinny girls to them, who elevated the twig girl Twiggy to the style icon. Miniskirts, knee-high socks, and baggy sweaters/jackets are also in fashion.
As for musical preferences, then for the Mods, the authority was black jazz, ska, well, and a couple of white ones - whatever, let them be - for example, Small Faces, The Who and the Kinks. The real mods introduced the fashion (excuse the tautology) for methamphetamines, which allowed them to party all night long without leaving the dance floor.
RASTA
But we must not forget that not only whites have lived in England for many centuries. Afro-Caribbean Londoners of the late 60s chose Rastafarianism as their style. Most likely, of course, to spite the whites - they can do it, but are we worse? Therefore, the streets of large cities were flooded with people with dreadlocks, dressed in something unclear, but always bright, smoking ganjubas and listening loudly to reggae. That is, they tried to convince others that they weren’t what they call “West Indian immigrants,” but the real niggas with their own awesome, bro, culture. Unfortunately, such an open demonstration of one's national identity, often led to skirmishes and minor massacres, and eventually gave rise to a movement of... Skins.
SKINS (or SKINHEADS)
You won't believe it, but initially, in the mid-60s, Skins appeared as a white alternative to Rasta. Boys and girls from working-class (and only working-class) areas admired the freedom of the Rastafarians so much that they also listened to reggae and ska. They just dressed differently: instead of bright clothes - straight indigo-colored jeans (exclusively affordable brands Levi's, Lee or Wrangler) or what used to be called slacks, they wore only heavy Dr. boots on their feet. Martens, and hair was shaved bald regardless of gender. Actually, that’s where the name comes from - “leatherheads”. Just like the style element was present checked shirts, denim jackets, thin suspenders and rolled up jeans, which have become a kind of “ business card" style. Much later, football fans, known for their intolerance towards everything, in particular towards people with a different skin color and hair length, joined the skins, and then this began... By the way, if anyone doesn’t know, white groups began to enjoy particular popularity among them, like Slade and then Madness.
HIPPIE
Peace and love, peace and love! The biggest pacifists in the world - hippies - were swaying from side to side, with a stupid stoned smile. Having emerged in the mid-60s as a logical continuation of the American beat movement, hippies reached their heyday in the early 70s. Initially protesting against Puritan church morality, hippies promoted the desire to return to natural purity through love and pacifism (or not giving a damn). One of the most famous hippie slogans is: “Make love, not war!”, fortunately the Vietnam War provided an opportunity to say this more often. And then there was the famous summer of love in 1967 in the form of the Woodstock festival, and a couple of years before that, the Isle of Wight festival began to function. They did not want to work and serve in the army for ethical reasons. Thanks to the Beatles, the religion chosen was Buddhism (you can’t spoil your karma), the drugs were LSD and other hallucinogens (to make the world seem more beautiful), and the music was psychedelic rock (which was born from the use of hallucinogens).
PUNK
Oh, these young and crazy ones! Anarchists and idiots! Appeared in the mid-70s as an alternative to any possible society in the world. Coming, like many, from working-class areas, they positioned themselves as a “lost generation”, identified with alienation and anarchy in its extremely aggressive manifestations. Johnny Rotten from the Sex Pistols set the tone; in order to finally cement the image of renegades and renegades for the punks, they also had to dress accordingly: torn jeans, studded boots and, most importantly, unimaginable mohawk hairstyles of all colors and shades. Malcolm McLaren, the band's manager, and his girlfriend-lover Vivienne Westwood, now called the “grandmother of punk style,” added fuel to the fashion fire by releasing a whole collection of clothes for punks. As for the music that has grown into a whole movement, I must admit that for true punk, the worse the sound and the louder the cacophony, the more pleasant it is to the ear. The punks didn’t bother learning to play instruments - you know which end to hold a guitar or drumsticks is already enough. Although, it must be admitted that the punk band Clash recorded at least one real hit.
NEW ROMANTICS
Emerging in the early 80s as part of the “new wave”, the movement had a significant influence on the development of the English pop and rock scene and was the only visible alternative to the ascetic and rough punk culture. Although it is difficult to call a “subculture” a direction that does not carry any social protest, but only glorifies glamor, bright styles and hedonism. Oh yes, exquisite clothes, incredible makeup, unusual hairstyles - this is glam rock in all its glory. By the way, David Bowie and Roxy Music, and then Spandau Ballet and Depeche Mode. It was thanks to the “romantics” that music videos became similar to what we see today. Unfortunately, it was the “New Romantics” who introduced the fashion for androgynous men and no less sexless women, as well as pretentious aristocracy, which we now call... hmm... naked show-offs (?)
GOTH
Emerging at the same time as the New Romantics, the Goth movement emerged directly from punk culture. Gothic rock - this completely inaudible music, was born precisely thanks to these people who most they prefer to spend their lives in cemeteries, rolling their eyes and, if intellectual development allows, reading from memory the poem “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe. Black clothes, black hair, dark make-up and piercings in all possible and impossible places are welcome. The basis of the movement is a passive protest against prevailing cultural stereotypes, but the Goths do not have any single worldview. Although the Goths position themselves as “non-militant,” many sincerely believe that representatives of this subculture drink the blood of innocent babies at night.
CASUALS
I don’t dare write “casual”, to be honest. But who are they? Appearing in the early 80s, people from the working class, of course, preferred to dress “like everyone else” (and this happens), but in clothes from good expensive brands, like Fred Perry, Pringles, Ralph Laurent and Burburry. So what makes them unusual and subcultural? Oh, this is a separate caste. A caste of football fans who don't want to be associated with skins. But the essence, to be honest, is the same. Football fans are known for their antisocial behavior - fighting during matches, throwing bricks onto the field and mass beatings after the game with fans of the opposing team. Of course, the police pay attention to the “ultras” dressed in the “colors” of the club and clothing brands popular among the English working class, such as Lonsdale, Ben Sherman and Dr. Martens. To avoid close attention from the police, some of them became a separate “caste”, starting to dress in civilian clothes. designer clothes(casual dress) or sportswear of expensive brands.
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Mots Mots (eng. Mods from Modernism, Modism) are a British youth subculture that formed in the late 1950s. among the London petty bourgeoisie and reached its peak in the mid-1960s. A distinctive feature of the houses was their Special attention to appearance (initially, fitted Italian suits were popular, then British brants), love of music (from jazz, rhythm and blues and soul to rock and roll and ska). The music of such British rock bands as the Small Faces, the Kinks and The Who also became associated with the mods. Spendthrifts chose motor scooters as transport, and there were frequent collisions with rockers. The mots tended to meet in clubs and seaside resorts such as Brighton, where the infamous 1964 street clashes between rockers and mods took place. In the second half of the 60s. the house movement waned and has since revived only sporadically.
Goths Goths are representatives of the gothic musical subculture that emerged in the late 70s of the 20th century in the wake of post-punk. A distinctive feature of the subculture is a passion for gothic rock. Early Goths looked the same as punks, with the only difference being that the dominant color of clothing and hair was black (with accents of white, red, blue or purple) and silver jewelry. They wore torn clothes and even mohawks. They also usually wore a lot of fishnet (most often men on their arms) and had an original make-up style, with very white faces and a lot of black eyeliner (both men and women). Hair was usually curled and combed. The only thing that prevails is the desire to look more beautiful, more unusual, hence the fascination with all kinds of “dark” symbolism.
Bikers Bikers (English biker, from bike motorbike motorbicycle “motorcycle”) are lovers and admirers of motorcycles. Unlike ordinary motorcyclists, bikers have a motorcycle as part of their lifestyle. The biker movement originated in the United States when bikers were divided into several aggressive and warring factions. The most famous group is the Hells Angels. The stereotypical appearance of a biker: a bandana (a dark-colored headscarf tied in a pirate manner at the back of the head) or a knitted cap, a “biker jacket” (a leather jacket with a zipper at an angle) or a leather motorcycle jacket (often a sleeveless denim or leather vest with the “colors” (symbols) of the motorcycle club) and leather pants are worn over the motorcycle jacket. Bikers often grow long hair, mustaches, beards, wear glasses to protect their eyes from the wind, and often ignore helmets. Bandana
Hippie (from English hippy or hippie; from colloquial hip or hip “fashionable, stylish”; youth philosophy and subculture, popular in the USA in the 1960s and 1970s, expressing protest against generally accepted morality and the desire to return to natural purity through the promotion of free love and pacifism. The most famous slogan of the hippies: “Make love, not war!”, Which means “Make love, not war!” and soldiers, and also used the slogan “Flower Power” (“strength”, or “power of flowers”), they began to be called “children of flowers.”
Ravers Ravers are a youth subculture of regular participants in electronic dance music raves, which gained mass popularity in 1988 in the UK. The appearance of ravers is characterized by bright colors in clothes, plastic sunglasses, short dyed hair for boys, colored strands of long hair for girls. Piercings are extremely popular, and the design used the “smiley face” symbol.
Punk, punks, punk rockers (from the English punk is rotten, nonsense) a youth musical subculture that emerged in the second half of the 1970s in the USA and Great Britain, characteristic features which is love for energetic and deliberately primitive rock music(punk rock), critical attitude towards society and politics. The popular American group Ramones is considered the first group to play music in the style of “bright unnatural colors, combed and fixed with varnish punk rock.” The Sex Pistols are recognized as the first British punk band. Punk rock Many punks, as a rule, have a colorful, shocking image. Many punks dye their hair with dye or gel to make it stand up. In the 80s, the mohawk hairstyle became fashionable among punks.
Traditional skinkhets are an apolitical subculture. Created your own own style clothes, called “boots & braces”. Jeans and massive boots, which served as an indispensable argument in the endless showdowns of football fans and street brawls.
