No One Is Innocent

It’s officially “bedtime for democracy” (excuse the pun,) mind control is no more and the nostalgia of youth culture domination has overwhelmed the world! The Stellar Boutique loves punk and in merriment of the Met Museums up and coming punk exhibition, Punk: Chaos to Couture, we have seen the art of punk celebrated through an array of exhibitions such as Southbank’s Someday All The Adults Will Die: Punk Graphics 1971-1984 and most prominent, the University of the Arts London’s LCC campus’ accolade to the iconic punk graphics style in The Art of Punk in order to celebrate the unveiling of their significantly influential graphic design lecturer, Russell Bestley’s new book of the same title. Offering an assortment of punk designs and illustrated art from album art covers to ephemera, the reserve represents an interesting indication of, in the words of the author, “an ugly and brutal side that can’t be appropriated,” from artists like Jamie Reid and Peter Saville  expressive of bands of The Sex Pistols and The Damned. Combining this with the rebellion of anarchy we saw on the Autumn Winter catwalks from Versace’s “vunk” collection of safety pinned understatement (no sarcasm…,) it’s no wonder we have seen the likes of luxury fashion retailer Moda Operandi prospectively launch a collection deliberated by renowned designers from Balmain to Vivienne Westwood and Givenchy to Moschino paying homage to punk with exclusive pieces as a means of providing women with the opportunity to encapsulate the spirit of punk through a combination of high fashion and rebellion.

Moda Operandi, May 22 2013
Versace Autumn Winter 2013/14
Peter And The Test Tube Babies Artwork

Where did it come from? The most revolutionary event of the 1970’s was the notable youth movement that happened presently late in the decade. A state of mind, punk was built in on Kings Road by The Sex Pistols manager, Malcolm McLaren (1946-2010) and one of the most influential designers to date, Vivienne Westwood with their ability to transform youths into extremists and anarchists, just by the way in which they wore and styled their clothes. Much to the public’s dismay, the profligate identity of the Punk movement referred to that of political and sexual bad taste and down-right filth with the deployment of anything set to irritate those worth rebelling against – t-shirts were sold audaciously at Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren’s shop displaying distasteful phrases, like “Paedophilia” and “Cambridge Rapist” as well as indecent displays of exhibitionists, of which they were arrested for. We can only imagine such manifesto led to a larger number of congresses, in a time where rebellion against politics and the undertaking of “anarchy in the UK” was the way forward!

Vivienne Westwood Swastika Tee
Vivienne Westwood in the shop that she and Malcolm McLaren owned in the 1970's

Punk style created imagery of lost adolescence and the anguish and pain of losing their childhood, through destructive, asexual clothing centring on self-mutilation.  Au natural was demolished, making way shocking deployment of decorative elements and attire.  Political bad taste was addressed and teenagers ran free wearing Swastikas’ teamed with cheap taste bin bags and safety pins and filthy lavatory chains seen this season by the likes of Givenchy and Moschino. The metamorphic “Queen of Punk” became revolutionised by her creation of aggressive, pornographic looking accessories and everyday attire for hers and Malcolm McLaren’s band The Sex Pistols.  Her unconventional readiness to take risks and fascination for different cultures still assists in her ability to push the boundaries, displaying liveliness and eroticism teamed with elegance and potency in her works, encouraging wearers to be individual and non-conformist, an attitude that has been adopted by designers such as the late Alexander McQueen and Jean Paul Gaultier in more recent years. Phenomenally and most monumental, the “Pirates” collection, inspired by 17th century theatrical and historical dress of Pirates, buccaneers, dandies and highwaymen of which she explained style as “just putting things together that aren’t anything to do with fashion.”

Vivienne Westwood photo shoot
Punk fashion circa late 1970's

With fashion comes art and with art comes music. Idols of the time saw bands like The Clash and The Sex Pistols rise to fame with bassist Sid Vicious originating the most offensive and inventive punk fashions of that time – he was only in the band for the way he looked and his anarchist insurgence after all. Their 1977 hit record “God Save the Queen” was released at the same time as the Queen’s silver jubilee, with Artist Jamie Reid causing major offence after defacing the original Cecil Beaton royal portrait, and in his ransom notes styled lettering, writing “You too can be a punk.” Loves young dream, Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen became the talk, with teenagers idolising Sid’s dirty and somewhat unkempt look compared with Nancy’s “heroin-chic.”  Sadly, living fast and dying young was taken literally, with both dying under tragic circumstances – Sid’s suicide note reading “We made a death pact, and I have to accomplish my part of the deal. Please bury me next to my baby. Please bury me with my leather jacket, jeans and motorcycle boots. Goodbye. With love, Sid.”

Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen
Joey Ramone and Debbie Harry, 1977
The Damned
Siouxsie Sioux

Bringing punk back to the future, it’s all about the fabric! Think heavy duty with leather and studded embellishment spikes, dominatrix patent and bondage slashes to reveal flashes of flesh, leaving it all to the imagination. Unassuming is no longer standard with traditional tartans, oversized furs and dishevelled leopard prints. An inconspicuous fall? Chances are “pretty vacant!”

Agyness Deyn in punk editorial feature
Street style
Agyness Deyn Chinese Vogue editorial feature 2011
Street style

View The Stellar Boutique fashion collection here.

A retrospectively vintage season

It’s been a hell of a season in the wonderful world of fashion and here at The Stellar Boutique we couldn’t help but take a moment to appreciate the absolute inundation of vintage fashion inspiration on the Spring Summer and Autumn Winter catwalks alike. In a fad of revival, all things vintage seem to be fundamental in both catwalk and street style alike. We’ve been utterly bombarded with nostalgia this season with the revival of Mod culture, monochrome and op art from the sixties a la Moschino, candy stripes at the likes of Dolce & Gabbana (the raffia bag is to die for,) and checks at Chanel and Louis Vuitton, alongside Paco Rabane’s swinging sixties on the Autumn Winter 2013 catwalk.

Vintage Mod
Chanel Spring Summer 2013
Acne Spring Summer 2013

We are absolutely loving the reincarnation of nineties, with the phenomenon of androgyny, dishevelment and the most portent – grunge. An anti-fashion and a trend that lived and died on the streets, the more unkempt the better, think Nirvana, a catalyst for this trend alongside the likes of Marc Jacobs acting as a key facilitator for this fashion movement. This season we’ve seen designers revisit their own archives to portray their own pre-eminence ready for both Spring Summer and this coming Autumn Winter 2013, with the likes of Nicole Farhi, Rihard Nicoll and Chloe taking inspiration from the asexual grunge spectacle of the nineties, combining the sensibilities of the x and y wardrobe this season. Apprehensive? We were too until we paid attention to our favourite fashionistas Mary-Kate Olsen and Cara Delevingne, carrying off nineties grunge like it’s nobody’s business.

Marc Jacobs Grunge 1992
Kurt Cobain 1992
Mulberry Autumn Winter 2013

Contrary to this we have some serious style envy from the orientalism on the catwalks of Stella McCartney and Marni with inspiration taken from the genius that was Paul Poiret, seen as the solo individual who pointed the way to the modern era.  Ranked among the most exceptional contributors in fashion history, he was not only an avant-garde couturier, but a visionary, a man who was prepared to take many risks, producing garments of orient-inspired costume in which the trend reached an apex during the early twentieth century, using kimono sleeves made expressively due to the avant-garde art movement, inspired by the Far Eastern costumes of the ballet Russes.

Emilio Pucci Spring Summer 2013

Lucky for us here at The Stellar Boutique, melancholy is here to stay, with Autumn Winter shaping up to be a perdition of a vintage celebration. We see designers look through their own previous collections for inspiration – think Christian Dior’s ‘New Look,’ seventies dogtooth and Hitchcock femme fatales at Gucci and Temperley. And finally, we’ve saved the best until last, we see the merriment of British heritage with Alexander McQueen’s Elizabethan collection and anarchistic punk at Topshop Unique and Versace for the Vunk label. Think heavy duty with leather and studded embellishment spikes, dominatrix patent and bondage slashes to reveal flashes of flesh, leaving it all to the imagination. Unassuming is no longer standard with traditional tartans, oversized furs and dishevelled leopard prints. An inconspicuous fall? Chances are “pretty vacant!”

Punk Editorial Feature with Agyness Deyn
Skinnies and Dr Marten Street Style
Vivienne Westwood Punk Retrospective
Moda Operandi Givenchy Autumn Winter 2013