WHAT ARE SUBCULTURES?

“A cultural group within a larger culture, often having beliefs or interests at variance with those of the larger culture.”

In a world full of Kylie Jenner’s and Bella Hadid’s, be a Johnny Rotten.

You could say that there has been an end to subcultures in the past decade. That, society today is abundant in trend-driven youths, dominated by the army of social media platforms and purposing these for a medium of self-worth and gratitude. I know I would. Personally, I don’t recognise a cultural movement or a community of individuality like that of the hippies or Mods.

Instead, I see fear. A lost generation.

Looking into protest fashion drove me to relocate into the past and how minorities established a unity for themselves and their values. In the Contemporary Fashion Module and my 360 campaign, I grasped onto the subcultural references of stylist, Robbie Spencer, who’s work propelled me to look at fashion from a wider gaze. I viewed subcultures as the literal forms of protest movement, but I don’t see that in society now.

Subcultures hold a substantial sentiment to the fashion industry. They are a movement from the audacious and an action through clothing for those who lacked the power to challenge authorities in traditional methods. Subcultures contain a community for the marginalised who are distinguishable by their features, costume, and interests. This visual code translates their opinions and beliefs, often of which raises awareness of current societal conventions and their desire to be freed from its impostures.

Commonly, these references are deciphered into fashion designer’s collections for runways, and for that reason I want to explore one of the most influential subcultures in greater depth and how it provided a frustrated generation of muted teens with a voice for disruption and, most significantly, a democratic change. Re-interpreting Robbie Spencer’s styling pushed me to overcome boundaries and stand out from the crowd, just like these minorities did. It introduced me to a world of fashion which escaped traditions and commodities; something I could influx into my concept.