Apart
from the improvement in art and design there was another aspect which was very
influential at the time … music! Mostly Rock and Roll because it was going
against everything which was traditional. It was the music for those who
rebelled against society. Rock and Roll was influencing everyday life in many
aspects such as fashion, language and attitude.
One
of these trends was the colour black. Weather it was leather pants, jeans,
t-shirts or accessories, black was the go-to colour during the 80’s and carried
out through out time to the present day.
Black
Leather was mainly brought to fashion by Rob Halford, Judas Priest front man,
in 1979. People had gone crazy about leather and where ever you looked it had
become a statement. But what people didn’t know at the time was that Halford
was actually gay and was wearing gay scene clothing. According to Metal Hammer
magazine (Jan 2009 issue 187) Rob Halford states that “It must have been odd to
some people that here’s this macho, aggressive, powerful band, and the singer’s
a poof!” Although once he came out in
1998 metal-heads did not care about his orientation and leather kept being a
classic. Recently we get this insinuation in movies such as Police Academy when
they enter the Blue Oyster Bar.
Another
trend was that people started to wear unisex make up and we are not saying
simply eyeliner, but the whole thing with blusher, eye shadow and also hair
spray. But with regards to men it was more something of self expression rather
than vanity. Where you have bands like Twisted Sister, KISS, Alice Cooper ect.
Two
trends which normally go together are concert shirts and naturally faded denim.
Worn-in denim was much better that factory bought and you had to put some work
into it as well such as countless wearing without washing, sleeping in your
jeans and getting on your knees during an epic guitar solo. And one cannot
leave out the denim vest which would have been covered in concert memorabilia.
After all this was the time for rebellion! No more starched shirts and clothes
fresh out of the dryer, instead the more worn-in in trashed your clothes looked
the more hardcore and authentic you were.
Even
though today no one would be seen dead wearing a mullet, in the 80’s it was the
most fashionable thing and not only for rock music but even in other genres. It
wasn’t just the mullet in particular but long hair in general, the bigger the
hair the better and everyone used to go crazy about it. It was worn by men and
women alike and it was very common to have men with better hair than the women.
Example such as Michael Bolton, Rod Stewart, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Vixen and and
Mötley Crüe.
With
regards to hair, it depended on what style you listened to, for instance the
long hair was more associated with Metal whilst if you listened to Punk it was
more common to have a mohawk.
If
all this didn’t make them feel manly enough, to top it up there was the trend
of wearing combat boots. And not just any boots, the scruffier with an added
buckle or two the more manly you looked. As anything else that is already
mentioned this all remained as the image of any rocker or Metal-head today,
give or take some extensions to which they go. For instance you hardly get to
see men with the big hair but they still sport the long hair, as for the boots
some go overboard with the bulkiness. But something like the mullet which is
not thought of being worn today are the cowboy boots with leggings.
In
the mean time during the 80’s: to some parents Dee Snider of Twisted Sister was
one of the most dangerous guys on the planet. This was when metal met the first
organised attack. Twisted sister and eight other metal bands Judas Priest,
Motley Crue, WASP, Def Leppard, AC/DC, Black Sabbath were placed on a list
called the “Filthy Fifteen” because their music was deemed offensive by the Parents
Music Resource Centre. Dee Snider was summoned to testify for the US congress
to defend his music and his livelihood.
“Rock
of Ages” (movie 2012) had precisely this issue as sub story and ironically
during a particular scene these protesting mothers sing a rock anthem classic
which is by non-other than Twisted Sister. The song is “We’re not Gonna take
it” which is the same song for which they were taken to court.
These
trends are still present amongst us, but today it is not just for those who
also follow the music but it has infiltrated the designer fashion garments
which are seen in magazines such as Cosmopolitan,
Elle and such magazines. Which
following the Rockers mentality these people would not be the authentic thing
since in a couple of months a new trend would take place and they would simply
follow it. Only those who follow this trend in their daily life are the true
thing! :) “Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll baby!” as they used to say.
(Cosmopolitan
October 2013)
No comments:
Post a Comment