SNIFFIN GLUE

Sniffin Glue was a name which appeared in my searches on several occasions, and I was intrigued to learn why it was popularised amongst the masses. Produced by council-estate kid, Mark Perry, in July 1976, Sniffin Glue was the first punk fanzine to have existed in Britain. Its contents replicated that of the DIY punk ethos with a rough n ready exterior and rudimentary cut and paste graphics featured throughout. These zines had similarities to contemporary publications in terms of news, gossip, and reviews, however Sniffin Glue contained additional punk literature and specified revelations and hidden facets of a life younger generations could never comprehend today. Described as “primitive, impassioned, and opinionated” (Peacock, 2022) Mark Perry ensured the monthly paper captured the 70’s cultural scene in its purest and authentic form.

Delving further into research, I unearthed an interview Mark Perry participated in with DAZED magazine. He described how the production of the fanzine was unrefined and far from perfected, exclaiming how this can be observed through the dodgy typewriting and mistakes in spellings. I admired his honesty within this interview and his smart intellect on society today linking it to capitalism. “The problem now is that we do everything through Google or Microsoft. We are conforming just by using them things”- for me, this emphasises how singularly creative the punks were and how today, we will never incur the same vision since our voice and creativity are rooted within private enterprises with zero originality and solely encompassing economic value and prosperity.

Generations fail to understand that they are continuing to feed into the capitalist system through using platforms like social media to share their voice, it is contradictory.

For me to produce a robust and effective FMP, such stand should be dictated through clothing and new methods of producing opinion; farther accentuating a reason to creating a fanzine or form of documentation myself- perhaps physically.

Undeniably, Vivienne Westwood was the eyes, ears, and epitome of Punk! My research on the legendary Dame during the 360-campaign module opened up an extensive knowledge and understanding to the 70’s period and I was heavily inspired by her offensive styling, daring charisma and vigorous passion for creating change.

Her late passing considerably knocked the fashion industry. She was a connoisseur of all things audacious, and it has urged me to continue her shift in provoking conversation through my final stages. I wanted to revisit the Queen of Punk’s history more intensely and use it as inspiration in my final work.

I admire Westwood’s passion a lot. Her bold, tenacious, and unapologetic manner to deceive the public eye and to establish work, which was far ahead of her time, massively influential and a tactful cajole at the British establishment, was invigorating.

Working alongside former hubby Malcolm McLaren, they created a generational home for the lower income and youth in Britain, which was many times belittled and humiliated. Vivienne Westwood was raised within a small village in Derbyshire to a factory worker and cotton weaver and her upbringing was considerably tainted from a post-war culture. Enduring the hardships and poverty herself, I believe Westwood’s creations were both a reflection of her childhood as well as an assimilation for the youth of the 70’s too. I often think she saw a negligence in them, as she once had as a child, thus acting on this to provide them with the escapism and voice she never had.

Despite not being the inventor of punk, Westwood is highly regarded and credited for its popularity and commercialism. With McLaren, the pair discerned an emerging dissidence in youth and their disconnections with society and dictated the former ‘Paradise Garage’ into ‘Let it Rock’, a staple recoil from the flared denim and wide lapels of the hippie movement.

The store opened sporadically, thus adding to the hype of when you could observe the outrageous and provocative motifs, channelling London conversation for years.

Westwood and McLaren evolved with proto-punk, reinventing the shop numerous times- the most notable being SEX. Westwood’s interpretation of the punk aesthetic has always been a visual expression of the heretic lifestyle and the rhetoric of insurgents (Onessimo, 2022), she centralised on the notion of subversion and wanted to create a stagnant statement of voice for a disenfranchised generation- something she materialised very successfully.

I unearthed an interview from 1998 of Vivienne Westwood and Sue Lawley. In the interview, the legendary designer showcased her new collections which looked fairly correspondent to figure 10, detailing the infamous mini-crini “a modern take on the crinoline undergarment mixed with the mini skirt craze of the 1980s” (Yi, 2023).

Westwood experienced a humiliating and crude response from both, presenters, and audience. For me this interview truly captured the ridicule, mockery and discouragement Vivienne faced for establishing something which didn’t commodify with the standardised rulebook of fashion at the time.

I see Westwood’s designs as an inspiration for individuals like Kawakubo in which they reimagined style, so it defies the norms and allows the body to be unrestricted and liberatedcreating unusual shapes. I have taken great inspiration from this interview into my work, as I often feel it is judged for its uniqueness and lack of compliance with current trends.

The storytelling and premature thinking of such designers reminds me that my productions can be ahead of the curve and conceptual to the eye, but they don’t have to look like anybody else’s either!

Throughout my projects, I aim to educate myself through a variety of sources. On the Disney+ platform, a contemporary interpretation showing the history of the Sex Pistols was airing, and I found it hugely beneficial for providing an insight into their story as well as the fashion of the punks. The series demonstrated the harsh realities of the socioeconomic state of the 70s, presenting Britain in a downward spiral, just like it is today.