I found this great Magazine "i-D" and they do some fantastic articles. I loved the November 2007 issue about Punks because, they didnt demonise them or make them out to be crazed freaks - they have been portrayed as cool, fun-loving, gutsy people.
The !*#? Issue.
PUNK IS AN ATTITUDE - "Punk is so much more than rude words and spitting in someone's face. They stand for the opposite of their shaven-headed, extreme -tattooed, frightening look. They believe in anarchy, they're warm-hearted and tender in a way. With so much style culture around, there's a refreshing 'freedom to be yourself'. Punk is, after all, about smashing the barriers of embarassment. They never make fun of each other. This style isn't a passing fad for them, it't not a weekend thing. A two foot Mohican is a choice never to be rich - normal jobs aren't an option. These punks have rejected society's uniform and created their own. They're striving for a different world."
PUNK IS FREEDOM - Do it just the way you want to.
When I'm hungry, I eat.
When I'm thirsty, I drink.
When I feel like saying something, I say it.
- Madonna.
PUNK IS REBELLION - Punk is all about being bored in the suburbs, skulking by the park benches and hanging out with a gang of friends who make your life worth living.
Punks are usually 'style-scavengers'. Old studded belts, old T-shirts. The staples are still spiky, 30 years on from the punk jubilee. Leather everywhere - in jackets asking to be painted on, boots, watches etc. Studs, are in full-on revival. And ofcourse, a punk pooch 'who does the snarling for you'! Hiking inspired boots are really popular - especially the huge, chunky ones.
PUNK IS ORIGINAL - Black is back, slap on the eyeliner and don your new LBD.
PUNK IS A STATE OF MIND
Too fast to live
Undermine their pompous authority, reject their moral standards, make anarchy and disorder your trademarks. Cause as much chaos and disruption as possible but don't let them take you alive. Sid Vicious.
Too young to die
You've got to walk and talk with God to go to heaven...I have the devil in me! If I didn't have, I'd be a christian. Jerry Lee Lewis.
Be Reasonable. Demand The Impossible.
'I like to see young people who are brave and who are trying to move boundaries - but there are only a few who are doing that kind of thing.' Walter Beirendonck
The Filth and the Fury
Hit me baby, one more time. Britney Spears.
Paradise Garage
If clothes are going to mean anything they've got to threaten or challenge. If they have that edge they should provoke people into thinking. Leigh Bowery.
Let it Rock
I think I'm a natural born leader. I know how to bow down to authority...if it's authority that I respect. Tupac Shakur.
'Regrets, I've had a few.
But then again, too few to mention.'
'If Factory and The Hacienda were'nt afraid of fantastic failure, why should we fear it?'
Interview with Malcolm McLaren who supposedly 'invented' punk. I love his love of life and his general attitude...so here are a couple of lines -
I didn't regret one moment - and would purposefully mismanage everything wrong, because I didn't want to do anything right. I never wanted to be good; I don't want to be good at all. I wanna be bad. 'You think I'm bad at doing my job, well I'm going to be even badder. I'm gonna be the worst manager you can imagine. You will cry at my absolute destruction.'
"And this was the beginning of punk, theses two walls and the door of that store. It was out bridge from art school into the real world, and we were going to do it as bad and as cruel and as mechevious and as manipulative as humanly possible"
Walter Van Beirendonck
"I like to see young people who are brave abd who are trying to move the boundaries - but there are only a few who are doing that kind of thing. It's harder than ever for young designers to establish themselves and remain independant though, isn't it?"
"I was fighting and defending, and talking about the world problems and making all these slogans. But I feel now that is becoming almost commercial and mainstream - more and more people are talking about global issues, which is good, but for me I want to move forward to something else."
In conclusion -
'Ain't nothing more punk than a guy in a dress. To walk down the street in heels, full make- up and beard is the ultimate up middle finger to conformity, the biggest 'fuck you' to conventional discipline. More rebellious than a Mohican, more daring than a studded jacket, it takes a whole load of balls to walk this catwalk. '
P.S - I really like Agent Provocateur. Stockings esp. are delicious.
