3 Subcultures

or how one can construct an identity and find a place for him/her self in position to others






Text and photographs by Claudiu Berechet
Styling by Charlene Galea



London College of Fashion - 2013

100% Analog project
In the grey period after the Second World
War, without conscriptions, without regiments to
join and without the uniform that the government
created, British youths had to create their
own army and costume. Facilitated by the end of
the Great Depression and by an economic growth
as never seen in the United Kingdom the living
standards grew rapidly, and, suddenly, a new type
of teenager emerged. A new niche of the fashion
and music market was created through youths
who had more money to spend on records and
clothes. The synchronisation couldnt be more
perfect, in the same time new sounds and lms
being imported from the United States of America.
The Wild One, with Marlon Brando portraying
the leader of a motorcycle gang, where, as
Perry(2012) states in the documentary Fred Perry
Presents Subcultures, the rebellious spirit is
clearly evoked, had e huge impact on teenagers
giving them the will to ght for a cause. As
Hebdige(1979) stated subcultures bring together
like-minded individuals who feel neglected by
societal standards and allow them to develop a
sense of identity.
With all the ingredients waiting to be mixed
the rst acknowledged subculture, even if it had a
strong American scent it was uniquely British, was
born, and, Fashion as Britain knew it found its self
at a new turning point.
The Teddy Boys were the rst youths that
gathered in some sort of brotherhood in the 50s,
following the same fashion and sharing the same
beliefs. As Brake (1990) states, Teds conrmed the
myth of the a#uent worker to the a$ronted middle
class, appropriating as they did the Edwardian
sui ti ng of the prosperous upper cl asses,
combining it with a Mississippi gambler image.
In terms of style the Teddy Boy fashion had its
roots in the attempt of some Saville Row tailors to
initiate a new fashion, addressed primarily to the
wealthy young men. The new menswear design
consisted of narrow trousers, a narrow waisted
jacket, normal toe-capped footwear and a tie with
a Windsor-like knot, and, to cover the head the hat
of choice was the tribly hat.
Soon after the attempt to revive the Edwardian
era it was a matter of time until the unexpected
e me r g e n c e o f t h e Wo r k i n g C l a s s
Edwardian (http://www.edwardianteddyboy.com/
page2.htm, 2012).. Young working class South
Londoners that saw military service went over the
river and saw the new emerging trends ,through
the West End neighbourhood Soho, that looked
appealing.
The Working Class Teddy Boy was
characterized by far by the long drape jacket
which was shaping boys into men, by bulking out
the body and makes it look bigger than it was,
adding a royal air to their character. The white shirt
was the most common during those days (mainly
because there weren't many colored ones around
that time) and was accessorized with a narrow
bootlace or American Sheri$ like tie (http://
sixtiesbritain.co.uk/fashion/2011/01/27/teddy-
boy-fashion, 2011) .
There has been a lot of experimenting with hair
in the early days of the Teds, from combing hair
black, pile it full of oil or Brylcream and then make
it stand up on the head in a qua$ or slowly fall
forward in the centre (http://sixtiesbritain.co.uk/
fashion/2011/01/27/teddy-boy-fashion, 2011).
Teddy Boys were distinctly identied with
their way of dressing but the subculture reached
its mainstream notoriety when they got associated
with violence and juvenile delinquency. This
started right after the US made lm Blackboard
Jungle was rst shown at Elephant and Castle in
London, when at the end of the screening Teddy
boy teenagers started a riot, tearing up seats and
dancing on the cinemas aisles. The same
phenomenon happened all over the United
Kingdom wherever the lm was shown. Some
Teds gathered up in gangs and had clashes with
rival ones, getting even more notoriety by the
exaggerated press reports. By far the most
noticeable riot took place around Notting Hill Gate
in London when Teds gathered up in large
numbers and attacked the West Indian community
in an outrage of racism.
As Hebdige (1988) states youth has been
constructed within and across the discourses of
trouble, being associated with crime, violence
and delinquency. In the mid 60s a rupture took
place between the smooth mods that were
characterised by their exquisite outts and non-
violent behaviour and the gang mods, who had a
considerably shorter hair and with roots in the
working class. As Marshall (1991) points these
hard mods became commonl y known as
Skinheads by about 1968. The new born Skinhead
subculture had its inuences, as Brown (2004)
states, from the West I ndi an communi ty
(specically Jamaican) Rude Boys, in terms of
fashion music and lifestyle. Even though at their
roots Skinheads were apolitical many of them
were gathering into small gangs depending on
political views and race related attitudes.
As their name states, Skinheads were identied
by their short hair but also through unique and
new way of clothing. As any other subculture
fashion the skinhead way of clothing evolved from
its original look to the one that exists today, by
dividing into di$erent types of skins.
Even if the skinhead subculture had di$erent
types of beliefs, the clothing remained mainly the
same. Long sleeve or short sleeve buttoned shirts
or polo shirts, shirts or sweat shirts, T-shirts (plain
or with text or subculture-related designs) were
popular among the subcultures members.
In terms of jackets the most popular ones were
the denim jackets and the bomber jacket. Also
they could have been seen wearing sheepskin %-
length coats, short macs and donkey jackets.
Skinny denim Jeans, usually blue, were famous
and soon became representative for the Skinhead
subculture. They were worn short hemmed or
rolled deliberately to show o$ boots or socks.
By far the second most distinctive piece of style
right after the short haircut were the big boots. At
their roots Skinheads were a working class
subculture; therefore workboots used mostly on
the construction sites were worn. After a while a
brand became popular among them: Dr. Martens.
In the early days of the subculture boots were
seen as a way to show the political beliefs or to
show the preferred football team. By wearing
colored laces they were showing their preferences,
but this fashion didnt last long just because only
skinheads from the same entourage were able to
understand their meaning.
In 1980s a new music genre shifted from
the alternative rock scene particularly in the
Seattle area.
"Seattle was a perfect example of a secondary
city with an active music scene that was
completely ignored by an American media xated
on Los Angeles and New York. - Aston, Martin.
"Freak Scene".& Q: Nirvana and the Story of
Grunge. December 2005. p. 12.
With raw sounds inspired from punk and hardcore
music, grunge rapidly went from the status of
underground music to a huge mainstream success
t hr ough t he br eakt hr ough of t he band
Soundgarden when they signed with a major label.
Furthermore, the grunge music and implicitly the
subculture got to a global level with the
unpredictable success of Nirvanas Nevermind
album.
Even though they were not considering
themselves a subculture, the teenagers that
followed the grunge musical movement had all the
ingredients to be declared as one: common way of
thinking, clothing and a dening music genre. This
new kind of youths was disconnected from the
political life, being often dened as socially
alienated.
Grunge followers were associated with an
unkempt look, where the I dont care what
happens attitude was clearly visible. The thrift
stores were popular among grunge youths as well
as the local pieces of clothing such as the Seattle
annel. Adding some really old denim jeans and
some All Star Converse shoes and you have a
grunge look.

"This [clothing] is cheap, it's durable, and it's kind
of timeless. It also runs against the grain of the
whole ashy aesthetic that existed in the 80s. -
Marin, R. "Grunge: A Success Story".& The New
York Times. November 15, 1992.
Usually subcultures were dominated by
masculinity and male fashion, but something
shifted in the grunge subculture. Even if it wasnt
something new, both Teddy Boys and Skinheads
having some female representatives, the number
of female grunge like looking was growing bigger
and bigger. The same unkempt apparence was
now planned before, in front of a wardrobe.

It is clear, therefore, that as Bennett (2005)
states, fashion is a key resource through which
individuals in late modernity construct their
identities and position themselves in relation to
others. Starting from the description made above
of some of the most inuential subcultures of the
20
th
century it is unarguable that fashion shaped
the identities of the followers of those youth
cultures. Clothes dened and di$erentiated youth
groups form another clearly by expressing a
variety of symbols such as political views, music
tastes, and gang membership. Furthermore, the
strong rel ati onshi p between fashi on and
subcultures helped the clothing and music
industry, as Hebdige (1979) states, each new
subculture establishes new trends, generates new
looks and sounds which feed back into the
appropriate industries.







Styling by Charlene Galea;

Models:
Teddy Boy : Nicholas Hayward
Skinhead: Alexandru Popescu
Grunge: Charlene Galea


Photographed at the London College of Fashion,
Studio 3, Lime Grove Site, West London in March
2013.


Technical Information:

Shot with Mamiya RZ67 on Ilford FP4 120 lm. Background
modied in darkroom using analogue techniques. Series of 6
limited C-type prints, scanned after. Natural light only. Aperture
set at f:/2.8 - f:/4 on 110 mm Mamiya-Sekor lens with a shutter
speed of 1/125 - 1/250.