SEX PISTOLS

The Sex Pistols were a band consisting of members Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Glen Matlock and Sid Vicious. Managed by Malcolm McLaren, the scandalous group took the country AND media by storm for their anarchic behaviour, offensive language, and brash music.

As Elizabeth Wilson expressed in the book Bohemians: The Glamorous Outcasts “Punk was trash culture gone avant-garde and/or the avant-garde gone trash, and just as Dada had tried to destroy the institution of art, so the punks seemed bent on destroying the very institution of fashion” (Wilson, 2003)-

I feel the Sex Pistols had the same intention but with music. The working class of antagonistic teenagers were fuelled to infuse rage and destruction into their lyrics as “an attempt to strip rocks complexities to the bone” (Savage, n.d) and tear down the traditions of British culture. The Sex Pistols typically styled garments from Vivienne Westwood’s SEX shop which enhanced their provocative nature further. In an interview with Bill Grundy on YouTube, you can observe the band fashioning sleeveless graphic tees, leather jackets, piercings, safety pins and swastikas as clothing and accessory.

This series has made me understand the value and strong emphasis music has when collaborated with fashion. The Sex Pistols were not just a punk rock band, they were the style icons and influential figures to the youth of the day. It makes me questioncould I incorporate music, so it has such an effect with the consumer I am proposing for?