From the Archives: Punk Style and the DIY Movement That Rewrote Fashion Rules

Tonya Blazio-Licorish
·1 min read

Style tribes have inspired fashion trends for decades, many weaving in and out of fashion, some becoming iconic over time.

On April 11, 1977, WWD’s page one story, “Watch Out for the New BP” (short for WWD’s  “Beautiful People” in society coverage) noted that British punkers were more than scenic — they were the next big thing in fashion, their anti-establishment ethos about to make its way from the underground to the high street. The movement’s DIY protest style of safety pins, razor-slashed T-shirts, fishnet stockings, sterling silver piercings, tattoos, severe makeup and worn-in leather motorcycle jackets — in fashion’s favorite color, black — made the industry take notice. WWD had already made note of the trend’s evolution as Vivienne Westwood’s and Malcolm McLaren’s fashion line and store Seditionaries, before its renaming to World’s End on London’s King’s Road, began to draw broader interest.

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Punk’s evolution had not been widely accepted across the pond. But that was about to change when British designer Zandra Rhodes took inspiration from the style tribe to create her “conceptual chic” collection. It embodied punkers’ DIY style in brightly colored jersey dresses and, of course, black looks for its newest consumer Stateside. The collection debuted at New York’s Bloomingdale’s just in time for change of season.

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