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Sub Cultures™/ Text / Shona Harvey / Illustration / Niki Pilkington London has always been home to a variety of alternative and prominent subcultures with young people at the forefront. For our Alternative Issue, we take you on a whistle stop tour of just a few of the many ‘Alternative Subcultures’ that span the last fifty years. 1. Teddy boys 1950s The Teddy Boy subculture initially surfaced in London in the 1950s and it didn’t take long for the rest of the country to become familiar with the movement. Teddy Boys were identified by their smart dress sense and their less smart xenophobic viewpoints and aggressive nature. They were involved in violent clashes with rival subcultures like the Mods and perhaps most infamously during the Notting Hill riots in 1958 when the areas where the African Caribbean community lived came under attack. 2. Hippies 1960s Everyone’s heard of ‘the Summer of Love’, right? Well this refers to the year of 1967, when the Hippie movement was thriving and thousands of people rallied together in San Francisco to encourage counter-culture and political rebellion. Hippies first appeared in the US during the 60s and soon spread worldwide. They believed in sexual liberation and drugs and listened to psychedelic rock and folk music. Your typical Hippies liked to dress in bell-bottom jeans, peasant blouses and halter neck tops, and peace signs and flowers were entirely essential. 3. Mods 1960s Mods loved Ben Sherman checked shirts, tailor made suits, American soul music and Italian scooters. They glorified leisure and money and were often criticised for being vain, effeminate and stuck up. The Mods first appeared in London in the 1950s but became more popular during the 60s. They are remembered for their tumultuous rivalry with the Rockers, and the seaside riots between the two groups that took place in 1964. This conflict was so influential that it resulted in an academic study by sociologist Stanley Cohen entitled Folk Devils and Moral Panics. 4. Skinheads late 60s/70s After the decline of the Mods in the late 60s, the Skinheads arrived with their Dr Marten boots, Sta-Prest slacks, Ben Sherman polo shirts, braces and of course, their shaved heads! The Skinheads were strongly influenced by Jamaican ‘rude boys’, and enjoyed listening to the sounds of Ska, Rocksteady and early reggae music. Although the movement was originally non-political, the result of immigration and economic problems in the 70s began to cause tension across the country and the subculture was consequently adopted by openly neo-Nazi groups. 5. Casuals late 1970s/80s This football fashion subculture is widely believed to have originated in the late 1970s, when Liverpool fans travelled to Europe and discovered new labels that were not commonly obtainable back home. The movement really began to peak during the 80s and the Casuals subculture is strongly believed to be one of the biggest working class youth cults ever. The idea is that Casuals avoided donning club colours and began to dress in designer names like Burberry, Stone Island and Fred Perry to avoid the attention of the police. 6. Cyber Goths 1980s Cyber Goths made themselves known in the UK towards the end of the 80s, showing a love of technology and trance and techno music. A Cyber Goth can be spotted by their heavily futuristic fashion sense – think big black boots with tall platforms, goggles, gas masks, neon colours, PVC and hair extensions. Male and female Cyber Goths dress very similarly, which explains the subculture’s association with androgyny. 7. New Romantics 1980s The early 80s in the UK saw the emergence of New Romanticism, which was seen as an antidote to the raucous Punk movement. New Romantics were selfconscious and glamorously and theatrically dressed, and listened to bands like Ultravox, Spandau Ballet, Adam and the Ants and David Bowie. They celebrated midweek clubbing and London venues like Billy’s and the Blitz became the hotspots for these androgynous and hedonistic party animals. In the 21st Century Do they still exist? Text by Dami Abajingin Today in 2009, 6o years after the teenage subculture was born, it seems that anything that is seen as different or alternative in youth culture no longer has that much shock factor. Young people today wear styles from past subcultures for fashion but lack the passion that drove their predecessors to rebel. Do subcultures still exist? In the fifties, Teddy Boys were seen as a shocking new phenomenon often noted as ‘the hoodies’ of their day, in the sixties it was the hippies with their anti-government and pro-drugs stance that stunned the nation. In the 70s, 80s and 90s Punks, Hip Hop heads and Ravers smashed social conventions with their safety pins, chunky gold, and neon-whistles respectively. Each era saw the ‘teenager’ build on the Teddy Boy phenomena as relative postwar affluence made young people able to distinguish themselves clearly from their parents for the first time. Their look established them as a subculture as they countered the mainstream. Elements of this can still be seen today, walk through Hackney Road or Brick Lane vintage shops such as, Beyond Retro, display the prominence of Rockabilly culture. The new generation has come to represent the entire era’s style trends, with the new wave blending old school Hip-hop hallmarks like chains and flat-top haircuts with a floppier mop. The look is distinctive but it can be argued that the aesthetic seems to be all there is. Artists such as VV Brown show the commercialization of Rockabilly style, but sadly isn’t that the inevitable fate of all subcultures? During the 1960’s political unrest was rife The Vietnam War and calls for nuclear disarmament set the climate that produced the tie-dye loving, marijuana smoking hippies. They were influenced by Bohemianism and Eastern philosophy. Hippies represented non-conformist bashing the rules of society; their mantra was ‘make love, not war’. The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix are closely associated with the movement. Aspects of the hippie can still be seen today, societies more liberal sexual attitudes, and environmental awareness shows this. Gucci’s 2008 A/W look captured the free for all spirit of the Hippie. Equally the winter of discontent in the 1970s set the tone for the formation of the Punk subculture in London. Vivien Westwood’s shop –Sex showed the popularity of the genre. The Sex Pistols were the musical advocates for anarchy. In 2009 model/socialite Alice Dellal according to some, epitomises the revitalization of Punk. Her hair half shaven, constantly leather clad, ‘non chalantly’ ripped tights; all seem to represent the revival and the demise of Punk. The political Public Enemy and revolutionary NWA were pioneers of Hip Hop. Verbalising their anger about the oppression they experienced. Chunky Gold chains, RUN DMC style toe-cap Adidas was the attire of a Hip-hop head. But Hip-hop as we know it today no longer seems to have a substantial message; it seems to be all ‘tap that ass’ cash money ‘hoes’. It’s an enterprise. Commercially Hip-hop’s downfall was shown by Nas calling his 2006 album ‘Hip hop is dead’. But there is a glimmer of hope with the likes of Talib Kwali and Rakim representing the sliver of integrity Hip-hop has left. The Cut spoke to Ted Polhemus, anthropologist and author of Streetstyle, he sheds his view on Subculture in 2009. He believes that young people wear the look of past subcultures superficially sold to them by global marketing companies; “There are all sorts of marketing people and ‘cool hunters’ going around playing spot the new ‘tribe’. But I am very suspicious. For me the only answer to this is to ask the person in question, ‘Are you a goth/emo/chav?’ Usually these days you find the answer is ‘No, I’m an individual’. At least in the UK and the USA where most streetstyle of the past started. But subcultures may be alive and well in places like Mexico or Argentina”. But to what extent do you think subculture is about rebellion? “For my generation - the baby boomers - rebellion was easy. My parents were conventional in their style, conservative, deeply religious, easy to rebel against. I had some students recently who said that their parents had been punks, how do you rebel against that? Many subcultures in the past were about rebellion, yes. But they were also about conforming to your own group. I suspect that in our present time of extreme individuality that the conforming demanded of subcultures is no longer acceptable”. So what does ‘alternative style’ mean in 2009, and is there still such a thing as the alternative? If so how does it differ from what it meant 50 years ago? Polhemus believes that today there is no norm from which to form an alternative. “In, say 1947 or, say, 1964 one could identify the look: Dior’s ‘New Look’ and, in ‘64, Quant’s mini. Fashion journalists still pretend that they can go to Paris and spot the ‘next big thing’ but the truth is that there will never again be a ‘next big thing’. All these different, conflicting developments will not come from Paris or any other one location. Today and into the future style comes from and goes to everywhere”. As Polhemus says, it seems factual to say that there is no longer one culture to conform to or rebel against. This, coupled with the fact that individualism aptly describes youth culture today, would imply that there are no longer any real subcultures anymore. If you go into any high-street store you can see clothes that have elements of the previous subcultures mentioned above, so perhaps its is true that everything that was once seen as alternative or quirky has now just been commercialised and is mainstream? What do you think? Is this view too cynical? Do you belong to a subculture that has not fallen victim to commercialisation and is thriving at the fringes of society? Contact Us at info@thecutnewspaper.com. Also Read more from Ted Polhemus here		Issue Four August 2009 Tinchy Stryder Interview Davinche Interview Rose In The Concrete Fashion Kid British Interview Introducing Maluca Comedian Indy Selvarajah Chantelle Clarke Medford Theo Adams Too Much Too Young Debate The Cost Of Plastic Surgery Living with Cystic Fibrosis Shamz In NYC Yolanda Brown Secret To Skank Alternative Fashion Week Devoted T-Shirts Rare Michael Jackson Moments Lawrence Watson Challenging Homophobia Alternative Musicians Rounders 50/50 Horseriding Melo X Interview Zarif Interview Brazen Interview Poppy Interview Displacement Issue Three Aug 2008 Giggs Interview Global Kingdom : What Is Britishness Back To The Old School Fashion Sarah Maple Exclusive Young Comedians Kyza Interview Charlie Crocket Feature Chip Music Feature Lips To The Mic : Female Artists The Chrsiping Debate Rodney Hinds Careers Interview De Tropix Interview Grey Hound Racing Feature Slanguage Feature Real Life Gambling Crazy Cousinz Interview Hard Knock Wife Review Secret Style Histories Riz MC Cover Artist Feature Dels Cover Artist Feature Sofi Donut's Artist Feature Sara-Sham Savari Benoit Pioulard Emily Cummins Interview This Real Life : Smacking Damien O'Brien Interview Issue Two Aug 2008 Reggie Yates Interview Road To 2012 : Olympics Special Road To Carnival Fashion Freedom At A Price Red Hot Interview Nash Money Sneakers Micachu Interview Natty Interview Life In The Marine Corps Parents Meet The Teenagers Young Londoners Meet The Cast Of Adulthood Cyko Logic Interview Fred Butler : Prop Stylist Interview Immortal Technique Review Made In Queens Victor Timofeev : Artist Interview Ricky Powell Interview Twizzle Interview Flywear Feature Top Girl Film Feature Queen Of Nations Not Without My Sister Sky's The Limit Career's Advice Issue One March 2008 Bashy Interview The Cool Kids Lady Lykes Grimes New School Rowdy Superstar Interview The Sound Of Reason Slash Interview Hoxton Vs Hampstead Fashion Young Designers Lucinda Chua Interview Will Kay Interview The Brothers Size Chris Lambert Duane Henry Drug Trafficking Feature Does My Bum Look Big in This Life After Prison Whats Upsetting Our Children MP Julia Goldsworthy Autechre Live In London Hardcore Is More Than Music Media Box Paddington Development Trust The Cut Ica Blog The Cut On Myspace