Nick Knight

 Nick Knight is one of the World's most influential and idolised fashion photographers. He is known for producing pieces of work that consistently challenge "conventional notions of beauty." He works on a range of controversial issues throughout his career, from racism, disability, ageism and fat-ism.  

Knight has collaborated with many designers such as Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Yohji Yamamoto. He has also shot both advertising and editorial campaigns for distinguished designers including Calvin Klein, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent.

In 2000 Knight launched his award winning fashion website SHOWstudio; it has developed and advanced boundaries and pushed forward new creativity of experimental interactive projects, films and live performances. 

"I don't want to reflect social change - I want to cause social change." Nick Knight

Grace Jones

Grace Jones, (born on the 19th May 1948) is a Jamaican American singer, actress and model.

She is known for her androgynous look, with square cut hair and angular padded clothing. Her look was created in association with French graphic designer Jean Paul Goude, with whom she also had a relationship with. 

Grace Jones exemplified the classic flat top hairstyle which became popular amongst black men in the 80s. Her first album to feature this hairstyle was 'Warm Leatherette'.

Jones was also highlighted for her outlandish costumes and various personas which she would show at her concerts. A key example of this was her performance at paradise garage, in 1985. For this particular performance she collaborated with visual artist Keith Haring for her costume. Haring painted her body in tribal patterns and fitted her with wire armour.

In 1997 Jones secured a record deal with Island Records, this lead to a string of dance club hits. She had adapted her music to the emerging electronic style. 

Her music was was popular in American clubs however she found mainstream success in Europe, particularly in the UK.

In 1981 her single 'Pull Up To Bumper' spent several weeks at number 2 on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart and became a Top 5 single on the US R&B chart. Other big hits from Grace Jones include 'I've seen that before', 'Private Eye', 'Slave To Rhythm' and 'I'm not that perfect'.

Her most notable albums were 'Warm Leatherette', 'Night Clubbing' and 'Slave to Rhythm'.

Grace Jones acting overshadowed her musical career in America. She started out by appearing in low budget films in the 1970s and early 80s. Her mainstream acting began in 1984 with the film 'Conan the Destroyer', alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. Other successful films for Jones include 'James Bond: A View to Kill'(1985) and 'Wolf Girl' (2001), with Tim Curry. 

i-D Magazine

 

i-D, is a British magazine dedicated to fashion, music and art. It was founded by designer and former Vogue art director Terry Jones, in 1980.

i-D began as a fanzine (unoffical publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon) focused on the streetstyle of the Punk era, in London.

The magazine has come a long way from the pre-digital, cut & paste days, and has evolved into a glossy magazine. It built its repuatation on being a consistant source of information in fashion culture.

i-D magazine constantly re-invents itself to encourage creativity. The editorial content always manages to capture and inspire the reader(s). It features people in every creative field especially fashion, music, art and films.

The magazine has commended itself on being the first to scout talents such as Nick Knight, Craig McDean & Juergen Teller.

Other famous creatives such as Raf Simons, Kanye West, Helmut Lang, Lily Cole, Giles Deacon, Dizzee Rascal & Tadanabu Asano have also made their first appearances with i-D.

i-D is well known for the wink and smile on each front cover. The wink and smile is a graphic representation of the magazine's logo. Celebrities such as Madonna, Tom Ford, Naomi Campbell, Bjork, Chloe Sevigny & Tilda Swinton have been featured on i-D with the cheeky wink. 

David LaChapelle

The career of David LaChapelle began in the 1980s. After attending North Carolina school of Arts he moved to New York where he enrolled at both the Art Students League and the School of Visual Arts. His work caught the eye of Andy Warhol and editors of Interview magazine, with shows at 303 Gallery, Trabia and McAffee. 

Interview magazine had offered him his first professional photography work. Working at Interview magazine had given LaChapelle the opportunity to photograph some of the most famous of the times. He has photographed a diverse range of people, this includes Tupac Shakur, Madonna, Amanda Lepore, Alek Wek, Eminem, Lil' Kim, Philip Johnson, Lance Armstrong, Pamela Anderson, Uma Thurman, Elizabeth Taylor, Alicia Keys, David Beckham, Paris Hilton, Jeff Koons, Hilary Clinton & Muhammed Ali, to name a few.

Throughout his career LaChapelle has worked in fields of fashion, advertising and fine art photography (photos created in accordance with the creative vision of the photographer).

 

LaChapelle's style of work has been described as surreal, unique, salacious and humourous. He has an ability to create scenes of extreme reality using rich and vibrant colours, making his work recognizable. David LaChapelle work has been inspired by everything, from art history to street culture.

David LaChapelle has shot photos for top editorial publications and created memorable advertising campaigns. His images have appeared on the covers of magazines such as Italian Vogue, French Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, Rolling Stones and I-D.

LaChapelle's work has even expanded to directing music videos, live theatrical events and documentry films. He has directed music videos for the likes of Christina Aquilera, Britney Spears, J-LO, Moby, The Vines and No Doubt.

Phillip Treacy

Phillip Treacy is an Irish milliner who studied fashion at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. “Nobody really had much time for the hat because it was a fashion school, but there did come a point when I was more interested in making the hats than the outfits.” Treacy gained a place on the MA fashion design course at the Royal College of Art. Where he met Issabella Blow and was asked to design a head piece for her wedding. Once graduated with first class honours, Treacy established his own company and was in 1991 introduced to Karl Lagerfeld, chief designer at Chanel. He went on to collaborate with Chanel and design hats for the next 10 years and began to design for the high street. “Hats are for everyone. We all have a head so we have the possibility to wear a hat.” In 1994 Treacy opened his first shop at 63 Elizabeth Street.

In 1999 he began to design hats for Alexander McQueen Haute Couture Collection at Givenchy. “Chinese Garden” Headdress, spring/summer 2005, was a memorable head piece. Made from cork; intricate cut cork pagoda, birds and trees were assembled in to a fantasy world. Since, Treacy has collaborated with many designers and fashion houses including Ralph Lauren, Donna Karen and Rifat Ozbek and also designed for the royal ballet, films and theatre productions. 

Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen was a British fashion designer well known for his bespoke tailoring and controversial runways earning him the name L’Enfant terrible.

McQueen began his career as an apprentice in Savile Row traditional men’s bespoke tailors Anderson and Shepherd. McQueen did a variety of apprenticeships, gaining multiple skills and experiences. He then applied to Central Saint Martin to work as a pattern cutter but was persuaded based on his good portfolio work to enrol as a student. McQueen graduated with a master’s degree in fashion design. His entire graduation collection was bought by the now pasted influential fashion stylist Isabella Blow; she help McQueen launched himself as a new designer and promoted his work to the right people.

McQueen’s early runways were brutally theatrical and shocked his audiences, he was known as a “hooligan of British fashion”. Some well-known pieces were the Bumster trousers, fashionable builder’s bum, and the collection “Highland Rape”, an aggressive combination of what seemed like attacked models, portraying the “rape” of Scotland by England.

As McQueen became more recognised he was offered a position in Givenchy as Chief Designer and later founded his own label. The use of new technology and innovative ideas continually made McQueen’s collections fresh and new. Mould breaking models such as double amputee Aimee Mullins modelled for McQueen and plus sized models, you “always expected the unexpected”.

February 11^th 2010, Alexander McQueen was found dead in his flat, he had committed suicide the day before his mother’s funeral. He will forever influence and be remembered as creating much more than just clothes but life, dreams and a broke limits in what was thought can be done.  

Christopher Kane

Christopher Kane is a Scottish born Central Saint Martin MA graduate fashion designer. His graduate collection won him the Harrods design award and also attention from Donatella Versace whom he now designs the Versus collection for.  She saw his iconic body-con sexy yet soft designs and found similarities to her work. The debut of Kane’s collection was a parade of very short bandage neon coloured dresses. Kane loves intense details especially those that are powerful enough to transform a whole garment in another direction. Continually moving forward and stretching out of his comfort zone, Kane creates new garments that progress in challenging fashion and design.

Kane designed a range for Topshop that was its largest boutique collection with a designer, consisting of 39 individual pieces, which included clothes, shoes and bags. His collaboration stayed true to his original well known trademarks of neon brights, embellished details and mimicked some of his most famous and loved catwalk designs. 

Holly Fulton

Holly Fulton is a Scottish designer who studied at Edinburgh College of Art and The Royal College of Art. Her design signatures are graphic print, luxurious materials and hot youthful accessories. The woman she designs for is “anyone who knows what they like and likes what I do.” Fulton’s trademark is easy to wear pieces that embodied a luxurious qualities; she incorporates strong colours with a combination of black and white, creating a contemporary elegance where you can wear for any occasion.

She is now working on exploring new techniques and evolving new designs on a range of surfaces. Fulton won the Swarovski Emerging Talent Award for Accessories at the British Fashion Awards in 2009. Her Autumn Winter 2011/12 was a perfect demonstration of her fresh talents. Art deco jewelled dresses with intricate details and shocks of colour. The prints were surrealist designs that swirled and wrapped around the body with a hard punk edge. “The ethos of my work is to capture a couture finish and an attention to detail within ready to wear.”

John Richmond

John Richmond was born in Manchester and studied at Kingston University. He created a collection under his own name and quickly established himself as a leading designer of the British Avant-Garde movement. His collections are organised in to two separate lines; “John Richmond” and “RICHMOND”.

Richmond’s designs produce energy, creativity and unpredictability of youth and street culture. His collections gain influence from musical movements mixed with street ideals, his own individual style and intense precision; shy yet extravagant designs. The range of products continues to expand, already including eyewear, underwear, beachwear, a junior line and footwear.

Richmond is well known for feminising the woman body with neckties and shirts with a masculine cut. Rock, edgy and dark fitted garments also feature in his collections. Richmond is addicted to the rocker trend and enjoys meshing many different fabrics creating pieces of an urban wardrobe. 

Julien Macdonald

Julien Macdonald is a Welsh Royal College of Art graduate designer. While a student Macdonald was noticed by head chief Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld and eventually became head knitwear designer for Chanel during 1994-97. His own label was launched in 1997, which debuted at London Fashion Week. His pieces were heavy embellished with glitter and sequins; he was later asked to design the Spice Girls tour outfits at the height of their fame. In 2000 he was appointed chief designer at Paris couture house Givenchy, replacing Alexander McQueen. Macdonald was named British designer of the year in 2001 and was constantly improving his fashion profile.

Today Macdonald’s signature style is a sophisticated sexy, a glam attraction that is passionate. He still creates his well-known show stopping outfits for those who want to stand out and barely there pieces but has always evolved ready-to-wear collections that are more toned down. He loves confident women who aren’t afraid of their sexuality, and designs high octane, powerful and liberating collections for this muse. 

John Galliano

John Galliano was born in Gibraltar but moved to London where he grew up. After graduating from City and East London College, he enrolled at Central Saint Martin where his whole graduation collection “Les Incroyables” was bought by Joan Burstein and put in Brown’s boutique window; he graduated with a first class degree. Galliano gained lots of respect and became well known in the fashion industry but due to lack of money, was unable to show for several seasons. In 1984 Galliano established his own fashion label of romantic, desirable, delicate and dreamy themes.

He moved to Paris and in 1995 Galliano became the head chief designer of Givenchy but soon rumours surfaced that fellow British Designer Alexander McQueen was to take over at Givenchy and Galliano moved to Christian Dior. Now he is recognised as fashion’s great romantic with a wild persona whose colourful background has a direct influence in his work.

In February 2011, Galliano was arrested for an alleged assault of him making anti-Semitic remarks towards people in a bar in Paris. As a result, Dior dismissed Galliano from his role as creative director. 

Vivienne Westwood

A British designer who is essentially responsible for introducing Punk and New Wave in to the fashion mainstream in the 1970’s. Her style is a mix of punk fused with traditional Scottish elements and 17^th – 18^th century garment cutting principals; collections of historical beauties that rebel with a slight rascal. Mclauren, her former lover and business partner, opened a boutique originally called “Let it Rock” which was later changed to “Sex” in 1971. He later became the manager of the band The Sex Pistols and they wore Westwood and Mclauren’s designs. Their designs were interpretations and inspired by bikers, fetish and prostitutes; bicycle chains, spiked dog collars, rips, safety pined inventions. Today Westwood has her own successful brand, punk inspired, romantic tailoring and stylised corsetry Haute Couture and ready-to-wear collections as well as many independent stores and online boutiques. 

Rei Kawakubo/Comme de Garcons

 

Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo is notable for being the founder of the fashion label Comme de Garcons.

Kawakubo was untrained as a fashion designer but studied fine art and literature at Keio university. 

Post graduation she worked in a textile company before moving on to work as a freelance stylist.

Kawakubo started Comme des Garcons in Tokyo (1969), it was established as a company in 1973. Comme des Garcons translates into 'like boys'.

The label became very successful in the 1970s, a menswear line was added to it in 1978. Comme des Garcons made its debut show in Paris, in 1981. It was highlighted for its predominant use of the colour black and distressed fabrics.

Comme des Garcons is known to specialise in garments that are anti fashion, austere and sometimes deconstructed. 

Throughout the 80's the CDG collections tended too be black, dark grey or white. The fabrics used were often draped and the overall garment would be featured frayed, with holes and an asymmetric shape.

Comme des Garcons challenged the notion of beauty with over sized garments that enveloped the female form rather than expose it.

In 1997 CDG presented one of its most memorable collections, titled 'Body meets dress, Dress meets body'. This collection included a range of figure hugging stretch garments with removable down pads sewn into them. This collection was inspired by 18th and 19th century European fashion, in which bustles and pads were used to manipulate the bust and bottom to fit the ideal female figure.

This collection lead to a collaboration between Rei Kawakubo and Merce Cunningham in 1997 on a dance piece titled 'Scenario'. 

Similarly to other fashion labels Comme des Garcons has branched out into perfume and accessories.

Some of the lines (designed by Rei Kawakubo) which fall under the Comme des Garcons label include the CDG women's collection, CDG Noir (a black dominated women's collection), CDG Homme Plus, CDG Homme Plus Evergreen, CDG Homme Deux, CDG Shirt and Play CDG.

Designers Junya Watanabe and Tao Kurihara, who started out as apprentices to Rei Kawakubo, also have their own labels under the Comme des Garcons name.

Comme des Garcons have boutiques located in Paris, New York City, Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul, St Petersburg, Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka Fukuoka. The most famous CDG boutique is Dover Street Market, in London. 

Junya Watanabe

Junya Watanabe is a Japanese fashion designer well for his experimentation and exploration within fashion.

After graduating from Bunka fashion college in 1984 he immediately went to work for Comme de Garcons. Watanabe started out with an apprenticeship in pattern making/cutting before being given the responsibility of the Comme des Garcons Tricot line (in 1987). 

In 1992 he introduced his first label under the Comme des Garcons name.

Junya Watanabe has shown an interest in synthetic and technologically advanced textiles and fabrics. This can be seen within the innovative collections he has produced throughout his career. 

Watanabe has shown that nothing is impossible withing fashion. His designs are quite diverse and inspired by many things for example one season he could be inspired by 20th century french couture, the next he could focus on waterproof fabrics.

Junya Watanabe has also displayed an interest in American heritage clothing and denim. He has collaborated with Levi Strauss to create 'street inspired' designs, using the same complex approach to this as he would with any other collection. The only difference being that denim is a more humble fabric than the ones he is accustom to working with.

Junya Watanabe has shown no concern for mainstream fashion. He has mentioned that the people who buy and wear his clothes "take fashion seriously" and that "they get a kick out of the challenge of wearing something new".

Kenzo

Takada Kenzo is well known to be the founder of Kenzo, a worldwide brand of perfume, skincare products and clothing.

Japanese designer Kenzo's love for fashion began at an early age, his passion developed through reading the magazines of his sisters.

He briefly attended the university of Kobe in Hyogo, Japan before deciding to withdraw in order to further his interest in fashion. Due to the lack of support from his parents Kenzo had to work part time in Tokyo to support himself, whilst doing evening prep courses in design.

Months later Kenzo was accepted at Bunka Fashion college. He became one of the first male students to be admitted.

After obtaining his diploma Kenzo settled in Paris, in 1964. He started at the very bottom of the fashion industry by attending shows, selling sketches and making contacts. After making enough contacts he worked as a freelance designer moving on to open his first boutique 'Jungle Jap', in 1970.

Kenzo's early work showed a lot of reference to traditional Japanese styles however it was his big silhouette designs which gained him worldwide attention.

Kenzo launched his first menswear collection in 1983. Shortly after he began his perfume line with Kenzo de Kenzo (now known as Ca sent Beau), Parfum d'ete, Le monde est beau and L'eau par Kenzo. Kenzo par Homme, the brands first male perfume was released in 1991. The most famous fragrance for the brand is 'Flower by Kenzo'.

In 1991 Kenzo announced his retirement, leaving his fashion house under the responsibility of his assistants. However he reappeared as an interior designer presenting 'Gokan Kobo' (workshop of five senses), a brand of tableware, furniture and home items.

Issey Miyake

Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake is known for his innovative and highly creative designs. His work is notable for the use of pleats.

Miyake studied and obtained a degree in graphic design at Tama Arts university, in Tokyo. After he graduated (in 1965), he travelled to Paris and enrolled with the Ecole de la Chambre syndicale de la Parisienne.

He first worked with Guy Laroche and then for Givenchy before moving to New York, where he was employed by Geoffrey Beene.

Miyake returned to Tokyo in 1970 where he set up his design studio, which became a high end producer of women's fashion. In the 80's he began to experiment with new methods of pleating. His aim was to develop the flexibility of movement for the wearer and to ease the care and production of the garment.

Issey Miyake's experimentation resulted in a new technique called 'garment pleating', this lead to the creation of his 'pleats please' line, in 1993.

Issey Miyake's other lines include his self titled men and women's collection, 'Issey Miyake Fete'(a colourful women's collection which draws t the innovation of pleats), 'Haat', 'A-Poc' (a custom made collection for men & women) and 'Me Issey Miyake' (a line of exclusive one sized shirts, that stretch to meet the wearer). 

In addition to his clothing lines is 'Issey Miyake parfums'.

In the late 1990's Issey Miyake retired naming the company's design director Naoki Takizawa as the head designer. 

In 2007 Dai Fujiwara took over both roles and to this day has continued to uphold the Issey Miyake aesthetic and long term research into both fabric and garment design.

Yohji Yamamoto

Yohji Yamamoto is one of the most influential and innovative designers known to date. Although he is based in Tokyo and Paris, his work is known internationally.

The Japanese born designer graduated from Keio university in 1966, with a degree in Law. He later turned his attention to fashion & decided to further his studies in design at Bunka fashion college. As his mother was a seamstress he worked with her to gain experience.

Much alike Comme des Garcons designer, Rei Kawakubo, Yamamoto came to international prominence after making his debut in Paris (1981). The two designers were often compared together due to their similar interest in oversized garments.

Yohji Yamamoto is known to shown an avant garde spirit within his clothing. He frequently creates designs that are far from current trends. Designs with enigmatic silhouettes often in black and varying textures.

Yamamoto has always relied on the relationship between the wearer and the garment.

The clothing lines created under the Yohji Yamamoto label included the self titled womenswear collection, YY Pour Homme and YY Costume D'Homme.

In 2003 Yohji Yamamoto collaborated with the german sporting brand Adidas to create the Y-3 collection. This collection has enabled the designer to have a quirky take on modern sportswear and the fast moving world of urban street fashion.

Throughout March-July 2011, an exhibition based on the designer was on display at the Victoria and Albert museum. This exhibition contained some of his greatest and most inspirational pieces of work. Some of the work featured included garments from his most memorable collections, sketches, video clips from catwalk shows, photographs and lookbooks. 

Victoriana

Victoriana combines the many variations of fashions and trends that emerged during the Victorian era with a modern approach. Common are traditional corsets with lace up back and full length skirts with layers of puffs and frills. It is a feminine delicate style of a Victorian England.  

Skin Heads

Skin Heads was a subculture that originated among working class youths in the 1960’s. Fashion wise their styles range from clean cut mods to a more punk rocker influence. Today they are seen as a more political and at times racist cultural group.

Preppy

Preppy is a word used to describe a classic and conservative style based on the popular fashions in elite north-eastern preparatory boarding schools. It takes inspirations from prep schools and country club sports, such as tennis, polo, golf and cricket.

Neo-Rave

Neo-Rave fashion is derived from the eighties. An attention grabbing look made up of bright fluorescent neon colours. It is a personal expression that shows an individual bold creativity from the rave scene.

Hippie

“An emotional rebellion against the mindless direction in which our world was headed.” The Hippie subculture was primarily a youth movement in the early 1960’s. It was a cultural protest movement of a generation who believed in the essential values of love, peace and freedom for everyone.

Futuristic

“Clothes of Tomorrow.” Future fashion is a style beyond anything anyone’s done today. Usually bold statement, unisex, cleanly cut and shaped clothing. With more constant technology and knowledge of space, it pushes forward what life will always be like in the future and designers who what to design for it today. 

Folk

Folk is a country fantasy trend of an ethnically dressed up peasant, gypsy tribe. A boho chic of feathers, fringing, beading, hand knitting, natural fibres, rich pallet of colours in festive pieces. 

Fetish

Fetish fashion is taking the appearance of a form that is meant to be extremely provocative and exotic. It is mainly used to empower a woman’s sexuality and dominance over the other sex.

Indie Kids

The subculture 'Indie kids', is defined by its connection with music, fashion and beliefs.

The term 'indie' stands for independent, as it refers to independent record labels that began in the late 1970s.

The indie culture emerged and became popular in the 80s.

Indie music became known with bands such as Sonic Youth, The Smiths, Joy Division and The Pixies.

These bands were commended for fulfilling indie beliefs of non-conformity and opposing mainstream music & record labels.

Original indie kids were known to dress simple by wearing cardigans, t-shirts, scarfs, blazers, waistcoats and drainpipe jeans. Clothing was most likely to bought from second hand shops, to oppose conforming to fashion trends.

Modern day indie kids have maintained beliefs about mainstream and have continued to listen to music by old and new indie bands.

New generation indie bands include Vampire Weekend, The Killers, Broken Bells & Mojo Fury.

B-Boy

The B-Boy subculture is heavily influenced and centred around dance. A B-Boy is a dancer who practises breaking/breakdancing or b-boying.

Breaking/B-Boying is an acrobatic style of hip-hop dance. It developed in the 1970s amongst Black and Latino American youths, in the South Bronx. Breaking is usually danced to Hip-Hop. It is also danced to other genres of music that is often remixed, to prolong the musical breaks.

Popular songs associated with B-Boy include 'The 45 King- 900 number', 'Eric. B & Rakim- Don't sweat the technique', 'De La Soul- Me, Myself & I', 'Run DMC- It's Tricky' and 'The Sugarhill Gang- Rapper's Delight'.

B-Boys are most likely to be seen in sportswear like shell suits/tracksuits (most popularly the 'Adidas original' tracksuit), sneakers/trainers and baseball hats.

Although most subcultures appeared in direct opposition to mainstream, B-Boy nearly exploded into a mainstream trend.

The B-boy subculture has branched off into a female equivalent known as B-Girl.

Ravers

When the term 'Ravers' is used one would associate that with people who attend raves. Although that is true, 'Ravers' is a subculture organized around a unique form of music, fashion and dance.

Raving, became popular in the early 90s. It focused on self expression and non-conformity. 

The rave dress code was about being willing to look however one felt like. It wasn't about about showing off but more about individuality.

Ravers would often show up to raves in ways that made them look young (e.g. with pacifiers & hair in childish styles),absurd, unconventional or loud (e.g. fluorescent coloured clothes, glow sticks & weird jewellery).

Rave music is unusually different. There are no musical acts but a fusion of sounds carefully created and mixed by DJs.

Rave music is made up of techno, acid jazz, house, industrial, ambient, trance, jungle and dub.

The drug MDMA was commonly used by ravers to accompany the musical experience. The intention of it was to heighten sensuality and emotional awareness.

Harajuku Kids

 

Creative, Unique, Expressive, Vibrant and Cultured, are words that come to mind when harajuku kids are mentioned.

Harajuku style is a Japanese fashion adopted by teens and young adults in that area.

The Harajuku style started with people wearing traditional Japanese outfits with a modern twist.

As Tokyo began to rise as a major fashion city, there was more of a westernised influence on the clothing. People began to combine Victorian, Elizabethan and traditional European military outfits with their Japanese/modern world fusion.

In the 80s, street performers and flamboyantly dressed teens/young adults gathered together to show off their fashions. This usually happened in Omotesando and areas in Yoyogi park, on a Sunday, when the roads where closed to traffic. When the roads re-opened the teens stopped meeting there. Throughout the 00s there was a revival of teens dressing up and hanging out in Harajuku.

Harajuku, is the general name for the many groups and styles of the Japanese youth culture. 

Some of the more popular styles include Gothic Lolita, Visual Kei, Ganguro, Gyaru, Kogal & Kawaii (cute). Another style is Cosplay. Cosplay being a fusion of costume and play. Wearing Cosplay involves dressing up like a anime or manga character.

The Harajuku style has inspired many celebrities. 

Most popularly Gwen Stefani, whos 'Love.Angel.Music.Baby' album was under great influence of the Harajuku culture, to the point where she had a track titled 'Harajuku girl' dedicated to it. 

Another music artist who has had some influence from the subculture is Nicki Minaj, who has introduced 'Harjuku Barbie' as one of her alter egos.

Goth/Neo-Goth

Goth

The Goth subculture began in the early 1980s, as part of the Gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre.

The term 'Goth' brings to mind the thought of something dark, morbid or deathly. 

Goth has associated tastes in aesthetic, fashion and music. 

In fashion and appearance one would think raven black hair, black fingernails, pale powdered skin, tattoos, piercings and period style clothing. 

Styles often borrowed from the Elizabethan, Victorian or Medieval time.

Goth music breaks down into a number of different genres including Gothic rock, Darkwave, Deathrock, Ethereal, Neo-medieval and Neo-classical.

Bands such as Bauhaus, Specimen, Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Cure, Adam & the Ants and 45 grave further influenced gothic rock.

Places like the 'Batcave' club in London, Soho became a meeting point for the goth scene.

Classic horror movies (e.g. Frankenstein and Dracula) and 19th century literature have also been associated with the goth scene, as sources of inspiration. 

Neo-Goth

Neo-Goth describes a member of the modern Goth scene. The subculture is described as a developed and fashionable take on Goth.

Much alike the original Goth look, Neo-goth is still greatly influenced by the colour BLACK and dark themes.

After the goth subculture began to fade throughout the nineties, new forms of music developed based on the foundation of goth music.

For example gothic metal would be overlapped with electro goth, which is techno influenced.

The new genres of music created and listened to by neo-goths include Shockrock, Symphonic metal, Dark metal, Aggrotech, Power noise and Neve deutsch harte (new german hardness).

 

Punk

Punk, came to light during the mid-seventies, in the United Kingdom, United States & Australia. Where it started, is debatable.

Punk had many sources of inspiration. A variety of philosophical, political, social and artistic movements has had an influence on the subculture.

Punk fashion would be described as rebellious and expressive. Its almost as if it was set to outrage others, with its theatrical approach to clothing, hairstyles and cosmetics. 

Unusual jewellery, tattoos and body modification also played a great part in punk fashion.

Typical punk fashion would be completely inordinary. Everday objects would be adapted for aesthetic effect, for example ripped clothing would be held together with safety pins or wrapped with tape. Ordinary clothing would be embellished with markers, paints and other stainable things. 

Clothing would vary from drainpipe jeans, plaid or tartan trousers & kilts, t-shirts and leather or denim jackets decorated with badges, motifs, buttons & studs.

Even bin liners would be worn as a form of dress, shirt or skirt.

This approach did however make punk fashion affordable, recyclable and unique.

Popular materials sighted in punk fashion included denim, leather, rubber, vinyl and some metals.

Jon Savage, most notable for his writing throughout the punk glory days, described the subculture as a "bricolage" of pre-existing youth cultures.

Soulboy

 

 Soulboy was a working class, english youth culture. It came to light throughout the late 1970s.

Members of the Soulboy subculture were fans of and influenced by American Soul and Funk music.

Soulboy emerged in North West England as a 'Northern Soul' event. Northern Soul was a music and dance event, which consisted of African American soul music. Northern Soul generally avoided Motown or Motown influenced music; it focused on lesser known music artists.

Soulboy members who attended 'Northern Soul', developed a particular interest in the modern funk and jazz of music artists such as Lonnie Liston Smith and Ron Ayers.

There was a development of Soulboys at nightclubs in South East England. Clubs like 'Goldmine', in Canvey Island and 'Royalty', in Southgate. 

DJs of the soulboy scene included Chris Hill, Robbie Vincent, Greg Edwards and Froggy.

By the 1980s, Soulboy had become huge. As the subculture was mainly working class it received less media coverage than the  more middle class youth cultures, which occured simultaneously e.g. the new romantics.

In 2010 a film titled Soulboy, directed by Shimmy Marcus was released. The film was based on a boy coming of age at the time when the subculture became popular.

Mod

 

Mod originated in England, in the late 1950s. It peaked in the early to mid 1960s.

Key elements of the Mod subculture include fashion, motor scooters and music (particularly 

African American soul, Jamaican ska and British beat music).

 The Mod scene developed when the youth of Britain began to reject the old fashioned and uninspired British culture around them.

 From the mid to late sixties and onwards, the mass media used the term Mod in a general sense

to describe anything that appeared to be popular, fashionable and modern. 

Mod males had a sophisticated look which emphasized tailor made Italian suits with narrow lapels.

They would also wear thin neck ties, button down collar shirts and wool or cashmere jumpers. 

Footwear would range from pointed toe leather shoes (also known as winklepickers) and chelsea or beatle boots.

Hairstyles imitated the look of french 'Nouvelle Vague' cinema actors such as Jean Paul Belmondo.

Female mods had an androgynous look, with short boyish haircuts. They would wear mens trousers or shirts and mini skirts, which got noticeably shorter throughout the early sixties. 

Well known models like Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy exemplified the high fashion Mod look.

Mod teens/young adults in general had an individual approach to their clothing. They would customise existing styles and symbols, for example the union jack flag and the air force roundel symbol would be applied to their jackets in a pop art  style.

The Kinks 'Dedicated follower of fashion' song highlighted and joked about the obsession of fashion amongst Mods.

Mods would gather at nightclubs such as The Roaring Twenties, The Scene, La Discotheque, The Flamingo, The Marquee and more popular clubs like The Twisted Wheel, in Manchester.