Does punk still matter today?
To me, punk really changed things. Being a fashion curator I’m particularly interested in that aspect. You had subcultures with their own styles before punk, of course. There were the teddy boys and the mods. But punk was less regimented, there was more choice, particularly for women. There was never a strong teddy girl look, but female punks dressed as provocatively as the men. Wearing deliberately dishevelled or ripped clothes- that wasn’t really done before, unless of course you were poor.
The female punk I mentioned earlier, the one whose mother ignored her, told us something else. During the week, she worked for the gas board, and she put on what she called her “old woman’s suits”, that she had bought second-hand. That, for her, was the dressing up, her punk outfit reflected who she really was. I think a lot of people felt like that, for the first time they could express who they really were.
Punk.London was a year of events, gigs, films, talks, exhibits and more celebrating 40 years of punk heritage and influence in London.