The
90’s saw the height of the rave scene but it was never about the fashion or
what looks good. It’s always been about the messy music and ecstasy. It was a
lifestyle where people collaborated together to heighten their experience of
life. Generations have taken this way of life to an extreme and ravers have
become creative and diverse. Sportswear and simple T's have turned into fluffy
boot and neon outfits and have become an outrageous subculture of
crasher kids on acid. Fashion today has taken a little ecstasy pill itself
and is now influenced by this era throughout fashion design. Once up on a time
90's fashion was all about the starter reverse-able bandanna style
peck caps and over sized bomber jacket. Adidas and Puma was a real hit for
the youngest as they thrived off the adrenaline of being
free. Now Fashion concious teens want to be apart of this free spirit but
this generation is all about the style.
Contagious Clubwear/American Apparel
For the devoted ravers that want the ultimate neon look
without the outrageous price http://www.contagiousclubwear.com is the website to visit. With
outfits that consist of neon sets and fluffy boots this bottom market website
is where everyone can create the ultimate ‘neon rave’ look for a night of
stomping and pills. Claire Frances is the director at Contagious Clubwear.com,
who was frustrated at the lack of original, sexual and cutting edge fashion
available for clubbers. For less outrageous ‘clubber’ there’s the exploding
brand American Apparel turning sportswear into alternative fashion. Turning the
simple T into an outrageous styles and colours and leggings that are ‘less then
simple’ These ‘bottom market’ clients are hardcore ravers that live for these
messy nights and want the lifestyle to. Extravagant outfits are out of the
question, it’s these brands that offer them the security price range of £60.
Cassette Playa
For the more
devoted fashion conscious raver, the fairly new and exciting Cassette Playa
offer new ways to dress for a dirty night of DJ's and drugs. Her street style
influences combine, rave culture and Japanese Anime making for an exciting mix
of colour, print and arcade character classics such as Sonic. Her style staples include baggy t shirts paired with skinny leggings, hoodies
and tracksuit trousers- all featuring bold, bright and clashing patterns. She describes the Cassette Playa universe as "techno, primal, positive,
and tribal”. She is known a pioneer of the new rave genre in fashion although
has distanced herself from the term, saying it is "Vacant in retro. It’s
just a marketing machine.... I guess it was a fun time but I’m more excited
about what happens now. The next level - the next generation”. While using the
past as inspiration she looks to the future- what a techno savvy, social media
obsessed, intelligent and exciting generation wants. She describes some of her
designs as "quite cartoon" but that she has "no intention of
making people look funny". She feels her clothes are designed for a
certain person- strong and confident “only a hard girl/guy can pull off my
clothing”. Her sought after t shirts start at around £100, and whole outfits can cost
in the region of £500. This price bracket sorts the more serious fashion
follower from the crowd- her customers know more about rave that just glow in
the dark bras and fluffy boots. These customers live within art, music, design
and fashion. As serious about the clothes they wear, as the music they listen
to and the places they are seen.
They pay more, because they know more, and this is reflected in a higher price
point and a higher quality of clothing and consumer.
Jeremy Scott
Competition in the race
for the best tribal street wear brand is Jeremy Scott. Best known for dressing
the likes of Rhianna and Kayne West, his Adidas collaboration bought winged
high tops and leopard print sportswear to the masses. As well as citing nu
rave, and street culture among his top inspirations he is heavily influenced by
Studio 54 and pop artists such as Andy Warhol. Working closely with the
foundation for the late artist Keith Haring, Scott created a shoe and track
suit bearing Haring's graphic art—a special project known as AdiColor, another
collaborative venture with Adidas. His clothing celebrates street wear and
oozes cool, expressing the wearer’s life and stories through Scott’s
effortlessly cool and colourful clothing. For his latest AW 12/13 collection he
bought back the best of the 90’s for everyone who grew up in them. A touch of
nostalgia in the form of Bart and Lisa printed jumpers and trousers and winky,
smiley and happy faces - wearable for only the most outrageous and confident
well off customer. Scott’s clothing isn’t cheap- marketing at about £500 + for
a whole tracksuit, but well worth the investment if you’re looking to show
you’re status in the streets of New York.
The 1980s saw the birth of the house music movement and the smiley logo was once again used to represent this new musically ground-breaking time, allowing people a means of escape. Acid house and rave fans used the yellow smiley face symbol as an emblem of the lifestyle behind the music. Smiley could be seen on promotional party flyers, posters, bootlegs and party-goers t-shirts. Heavily linked with the famous Hacienda nightclub in Manchester (home to the acid house movement, DJs and musical artists during this period), some to this day still consider Smiley a sacred symbol of this liberating time. Louis Gray lent her creative and quirky talents over to collaborate with The Smiley Company to create a limited edition five piece collection for spring/summer 2010.The collection embraces the Smiley Collective’s underpinning principle of unity and happiness. Featuring the signature smiley face, the capsule collection invokes the spirit of yellow with joyful, playful abandon. The collection consists of; t-shirt, skirt, bustier, jacket and dress in a mix of silk, Swarovski crystals and denim, each piece includes the original Smiley logo into its design
Agi & Sam
Agape Mdumulla and
Sam Cotton, the new upcoming menswear designer’s fall/winter collection stood out to us the most out
of all their collections. It reminded us of the old school ravers outfits. They
drew their influences from the likes of Jean Michel
Basquiat and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
They’ve used lots of colour and crazy prints. Some of the pieces are to
be seen with 3D glasses, while others like the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air graphic
t-shirt simply just jumps at you. They believe that you shouldn’t take fashion
too seriously and in a world that seems a little stuck in heritage and basic goods;
Agi & Sam certainly make a difference.
Rag & Bone
Marcus Wainwright and Denville nailed the emerging trend for 90’s sportswear in their latest collections, which ticked all the seasons’ trend boxes, from their easy layering to the pallet of festive brights; the looks is labelled as sportswear goes to rave.
Jylle Navarro
Jylle Navarro is in a league of her own as she throttles through the
fashion industry undiscovered. Her collection here displays Mosters vs
dark rave and explores texture of knitwear and extravagant colour. Jylle
describes the designs as always very creative and bold and if put into
its own sub culture they would be a mixture between rave and cyber.
