80’s UK Punk Fashion

Punk took off as a mainstream fashion trend in the mid-70s. It was given this high profile by English designer, Vivienne Westwood and the ambassadors of punk – The Sex Pistols. Their unique look was largely created by Westwood – it utilised zips, rips, chains, bondage, porn and slogans. The fashion tapped into anti-establishment feelings of the time with The Sex Pistols’ music (God Save the Queen/The Fascist Regime/She ain’t no human being) and general punk motifs, featuring Queen Elizabeth II. They also produced an anti-EMI song with strong words for the record company that wouldn’t sign them and their theme tune Anarchy in the UK. Pistols lead singer would spit and swear at the audience and promote an attitude of not caring about anything. This had the desired effect on the British establishment, who were rather worried by the trend.

One important point to remember – most aspects of punk had been around much earlier than The Sex Pistols. Punk’s musical influences can be traced back decades through bands such as The Who, The Rolling Stones and even Elvis. However, as a mainstream fashion trend – the one most people equate with punk – it started in the UK in 1976 and lasted for around two years. The full-blown fashion didn’t find such strong acceptance elsewhere in the world, but it was common to see small pockets of UK-style punks in larger cities.

80s Punk Hair
Pre-80s, the punk hair style was surprisingly subdued. Bright orange hair was about as far as it went – this was frequently worn by Johnny Rotten during 1976. For men, hair was more likely to be unkempt, but not too long. For women, hair was mostly decorated to match their outfits. The punks used hair colourings and asymmetric hair styles of the 80s with great impact. Coloured Mohawks, bleaching, colouring, teasing were all techniques used by many 80s punks. On occasions, the punks even borrowed from the new-romantic movement by applying makeup (in particular, eye-liner) for extra effect. By this time, punk had been well and truly taken over by the middle-class and it would seem no university was complete without a few punks sitting up the back of lecture halls – complete with spiked 80s hair styles and ripped clothes. The best parody of the 80s UK punk was Vivyan from the series The Young Ones – with studs across his forehead and orange spiked hair. It has always made us wonder if his name was a subtle nod to Vivienne Westwood.

The fashion accessories extended to the skin, particularly the face, with the tongue, nose, ears, cheeks and even eyelids being punctuated with multiple safety pins, studs, chains and all sorts of other paraphernalia.

80s Punk Clothes
Again, the punks tried to be as different as possible, not caring about looking smart but quite the opposite, wearing torn clothing. Particularly denim jeans and a lot of black leather and PVC; normally worn over a tee-shirt bearing an anti-establishment slogan.