Style & Lack Thereof: Dubstep and Anti-fashion
The history of subcultures has been a longstanding point of discussion amongst social science circles, fashion theorists, and beyond since their occurrence in the mid-century. Post-war Britain’s societal landscape during the twentieth century became a breeding ground for radical youth culture movements fuelled by political disillusionment; the period gave way to the emergence of a multitude of subcultural groups spanning across the economic classes. The 1950’s youthquake, and subsequent rise of the teenager was primarily due to the newfound affluence and abundance of leisure time afforded to the age group during the period, as fashion historian Christopher Breward has stated:
“Specifically, we can cite the relative increase in the spending power of working-class youth, the creation of a market designed to absorb the resulting surplus, and changes in the education system […] as factors contributing to the emergence after the War of a generational consciousness amongst young.” (Breward, 1994).
A classic example of a subculture to famously adopt a unifying style not only as a means of communication but also as a practical necessity were Skinheads during the sixties and seventies, whose aggressive, gender-ambiguous stylings had been influenced by Jamaican rude boy style, through frequenting dance halls and clubs in South East London, such as The Daylight Inn and the Ram Jam club.
Andy Bennett, Professor of Cultural Sociology at Griffith University, has argued that the term subculture is no longer functional when describing groups of young people who share similar tastes in music and style, and claims that clearly defined youth subcultures do not exist among contemporary youth. Beginning its life bubbling slowly beneath the surface of the dark garage, drum ‘n’ bass, and soundsystem circles of South London, before stretching further afield, traversing capital and country, Dubstep has instead been described as postmodern phenomena. Perhaps ‘neotribal’ is a more accurate descriptor than subcultural when it comes to the fanatics and club-goers of the haunting, sub-heavy, electronic sound. Regardless, the dubstep scene was certainly alive and kicking in Britain’s underground during those formative years between 2004 and 2007.
In terms of style, there was an apparent lack of visual synthesis amongst the dancers, except for maybe a preference of loose-fitting, comfortable garments such as t-shirts, trainers, and oversized, lightweight jackets or hoodies.
Despite the genre's predecessor of UK garage, which had its feet planted firmly in the dressed up culture of RnB, having a focus on fashionable excess, showing off, and peacocking, as well as the adjacent grime scenes obsession with similarly extravagant apparel such as Stone Island, Gucci, and other “bait designer brands” (as Skepta put it so succinctly), dubstep dances were almost the polar opposite.Overwhelmingly, fans of the genre were attending these events with the music as their foremost motivation, so to further amplify the already intensely loud auditory aspect of the clubnights, Plastic People’s (a London based club instrumental in the birth of the genre) founder Ade Fakile kept lighting and visuals to a minimum.
“One important ingredient in Plastic's successes was darkness. The room was sonically loud and visually quiet, relying on the emergency exit signs for illumination and, if necessary, a small light Ade installed in the ceiling above the turntables The DJ could pull the cord, get a little light, find their next record, then turn it off again. Darkness in this environment was an amplifier. Plastic [People] was absurdly dark,' says DJ, producer and writer Martin Clark when we chat. 'You couldn't show off even if you wanted to. Imagine you wanted to impress someone with some sick move, get someone who had caught your eye to notice you - impossible! It was pitch black.'” (Warren, 2023, p. 278-279.
Photographer Georgina Cook’s work from this period captured attendees at the genres flagship club night FWD>> through more of a social documentary tone rather than fashion-focussed, yet the images still clearly showcase dubstep fans disinterest with fashionable participation.
In the same way that no visual culture is still a form of visual culture, in avoiding participation with fashion you are still participating in fashion. In fact, subcultural dress has a longstanding historical association with ‘anti-fashion’.
The term has more recently become connected with experimental contemporary fashion designers, particularly throughout the nineties, such as Commes Des Garçons for their opposition towards the hegemonic fashion system in adverse reaction to the exorbitant flamboyance of garment design that reached its peak in the previous decade. Rei Kawakubo, founder of the legendary Japanese house, already had a zealous following from her home country by the time Commes Des Garçon was debuted in Paris in 1981 as fanatics of the garments became known as “crows” (due to Kawakubo’s preference for the colour black due to its comfortable, strong, and expressive qualities) Ironically enough, in the designer’s efforts to disassociate their work with traditional notions of fashion, they in the process spawned a subcultural style consisting of exclusively all black, androgynous outfits and coordinating accessories. Anti-fashion was instead originally coined to describe fashions that are ‘fixed’ and stationary, the opposite of fashion’s mod-ish and changeable nature. Suggestions have been made that “non-fashion” would be a more appropriate term, as, for example, traditional and folk dress, or body modifications like piercings and tattoos would group them under the “anti-fashion” umbrella because of their unchanging and permanent aspects, problematically suggesting that non-Western styles and fashion systems are in fact inherently against fashion.
The fashion that can be observed of the dubstep scene through Cook’s photography looks to emphasise comfort, largely ignore prevailing trends, and gives the impression that the focus was on the music, the event, and the sound. Furthermore, dubstep and anti-fashion movements shared a palpable authenticity and DIY ethos that captivated audiences seeking refuge from the homogeneity of mainstream culture. These subcultures offered a more genuine, grassroots alternative that resonated deeply with those disillusioned by the status quo.
(scans from 'Drumz Of The South: The Dubstep years 2004-2007' by Georgina Cook)
