Rock and fashion
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Rock music and fashion have been inextricably linked. The tough, leather-clad image of early rockers such as Gene Vincent influenced a generation of young people on both sides of the ocean. A cultural war broke out in the mid-1960s in the UK over the rivalry between the "Mods" (who favored high-fashion, expensive styles) and the "Rockers" (who wore T-shirts and leather); followers of each style had their favored musical acts, who eagerly fed into the conflict by releasing records praising one style and disparaging another (the Mods versus Rockers controversy would form the backdrop for The Who's rock opera Quadrophenia).
Rock musicians were early adopters of hippie fashion and introduced such styles as the Nehru jacket; bands such as the Beatles had custom-made clothing that influenced much of '60s style. As rock music genres became more segmented, what an artist wore became as important as the music itself in defining the artist's intent and relationship to the audience. The Glam rock of the 1970s brought fashion to new heights of importance in rock music with the "glitter" image of artists like T. Rex and Alice Cooper being widely influential. Some artists who had been active in the late 1960s such as David Bowie, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop also adopted a glam-influenced look. In the late 1970s, Disco acts helped bring flashy urban styles to the mainstream, while New Wave groups began wearing mock-conservative attire (including suit jackets and skinny ties) in an attempt to be as unlike mainstream rockers (who still favored blue jeans and hippie-influenced clothes) as possible.
In the early 90s, the popularity of grunge brought in a fashion of its own. Grunge musicians and fans wore torn jeans, old shoes, flannel shirts, backwards baseball hats, and grew their hair against the clean-cut image that was popular at the time as well as heavily commercialized pop music culture.
Musicians continue to be fashion icons; pop-culture magazines such as Rolling Stone often include fashion layouts featuring musicians as models.
See also
