Choose a fashion style or a physical element of a particular style and Essay

Choose a fashion style or a physical element of a particular style and consider how it signifies a social identity. Discuss the - Essay Example This discussion will define in detail the punk fashion style to bring out the unique aspects that define and alienate it from just any other group. Punk is a subculture, mostly of youth with the characters of opposing government, hating authority, with extreme unique hairstyles and dressing, they have the hatred of big business, greatly oppose prejudice, amongst other qualities. They advocate most of their ideas through their music, usually created by their punk rock bands. The emergence of this group dates back to the mid to late 1970’s mostly in the United Kingdom and United States, but today exists in most parts of the globe. Just like any other segregation or group, punk depicts strong distinct features that alienate it from any other group mostly in their styles of music, film, visual art, dance, and what this discussion is all about; fashion. Fashion is an umbrella term that covers style or practice preferences mostly in footwear, accessories, make up, clothing, body pie rcing, fashion, and to some extent furniture amongst others. According to English (2013), the 1970’s and 1980’s saw the emergence of extreme nihilistic fashion that depicted street style clothing, dressing associated with poverty, to express aggression and attract attention. It was during the era when Britain, and the global economy was skydiving, further widening the groove between the rich and the poor. The level of unemployment was very high and young people, especially the uneducated were the hardest hit. This period inspired, and continues to inspire modern punks’ way of dressing; they dress in worn, dirty, tattered clothes. It is also logical that owing to the small size malnourished people, they adopted the trend of wearing tight fitting jeans and clothes in general. Still on the note of dressing, punks consider their dressing as a medium of communication, and incorporate various tactics of doing so. As Kearns (2010), puts it, the punk subculture defines and applies its own intentional and very carefully thought of display codes. These codes have messages that they send out, which usually go against the grain of normal cultures, as they tend to be provocative, vulgar and offensive. In short, their fashion is a voice. The messages most common on the punk’s clothing revolve around Nazism, kinky sex, self-mutilation, political anarchy and other various themes that work to offend or provoke the â€Å"outsiders† who in this case are non-punks. Some popular examples include the â€Å"destroy shirt† that has the crucifix in an upside down posture with swastikas surrounding it, and the notorious shirt prints of two naked cowboys standing face to face. One of the major identities that punks use to identify themselves is through body modifications. Their body modifications mostly include body markings such as tattooing and writing on it or by piercing various parts of their bodies. Surprisingly enough, some even go to the extent of stretching their ears to achieve weird looks. In deeper punk, permanent and temporary body modifications such as branding, implants, and scarification make their identity and act as cues for artistic expression in addition to demonstrating scene involvement and embracing social difference. To differentiate themselves from the normal piercings, punks pierce unusual body parts such as cheeks or noses and implement crude accessories like safety pins and custom bullring design