Steampunk fashion is a subgenre of the steampunk movement in science fiction. It is a mixture of the Victorian era's romantic view of science in literature and elements from the Industrial Revolution in Europe during the 1800s. Steampunk fashion consists of clothing, hairstyling, jewellery, body modification and make-up. More modern ideals of steampunk can include t-shirts with a variety of designs or the humble jeans being accessorised with belts and gun holsters.
Steampunk fashion is a subgenre of the steampunk movement in science fiction. It is a mixture of the Victorian era's romantic view of science in literature and the industrialisation in most parts of Europe. The aesthetics of the fashion are designed with a post-apocalyptic era in mind. [1] At the first steampunk convention, "SalonCon", in 2006, steampunk enthusiasts dressed up in costumes reflecting that era. The costumes included clothing, hairstyling, jewellery, body modification and make-up. Steampunk fashion has later gone on to include gadgets and contrasting accoutrements. [2]
Initially, the clothes such as bustiers, bodices, jackets and other items were mostly handmade and customized, [3] but as the steampunk movement grew, entrepreneurs and companies became interested and started to mass-produce steampunk clothing to be sold both online and in stores. [4]
Since the genre emerged, the aesthetic of steampunk fashion has remained constant. New ideas in literature, and advancements in science and technology have resulted in subtle changes. Even though the genre did not become widely known until the late 20th century, steampunk and its fashion is said to have existed earlier.
During the 1980s and 1990s, steampunk fashion grew along with the goth and punk movements in fashion. Cyberpunk and dieselpunk fashion are variants of the steampunk fashion of the 1980s.
Works of writers from the end of the 19th century, such as those of Robert Louis Stevenson, G. K. Chesterton and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are among the most influential for steampunk fashion. Those works attempted to domesticate Charles Dickens's London (from his industrial age novels). [5] Sci-fi critics John Clute and Peter Nicholls have noted that steampunk is also inspired by a "strain of nostalgia". [5] However, modern steampunk literature, which began only in the 1980s, has also influenced the steampunk fashion during the 2010s. Steampunk writers from that period are credited with creating fantasy tales set in cultures with style borrowed from the Victorian, with stories that includes giddy action scenes and elaborate baroque expeditions. [6]
Kevin Jeter's 1979 novel Morlock Night is held to be the first steampunk novel, and the beginning of steampunk fashion. [7]
Just like its counterparts in other art forms, primarily literature, steampunk fashion is based on the aesthetic of an alternate history. Even though critics disagree about it being rooted in fantasy literature, there are elements that suggests that some part of its aesthetic is conceived from books and films that showcase alternate history using fantasy. [5] Interest in steampunk aesthetics may also be due to an increased interest from the fashion industry in Victorian spiritualism, during the 2010s.
Within the steampunk fashion, there are a number of personas, or archetypes, such as the valiant explorer with pith helmet, brass telescope and binoculars; the debonair aviator with birdlike gadgets and devices, leather helmet, brass goggles and canvas coat; and the gentleman, [6] with a lab coat over formal clothes and belts for all sorts of implements and instruments. [8]
Steampunk fashion is a mixture of fashion trends from different historical periods. Steampunk clothing adds the looks of characters from the 19th century, explorers, soldiers, lords, countesses and harlots, to the punk, contemporary street fashion, burlesque, goth, fetishism, vampire and frills among others. [9] Related to steampunk fashion is the Lolita fashion, which strand stands for a youthful expression of girlishness. Though they both take inspiration from the Victorian era,[ citation needed ] Lolita is more modest and focused on purchasing clothing from commercial vendors, as opposed to steampunk clothing, which is traditionally created from things bought in thrift stores. [10]
The base of steampunk fashion is primarily influenced by the fashion of the mid-19th century. For women this fashion was often dominated by long, flowing dresses and regal jacket bodices. The latter extended over the hips and matched the skirt fabric only occasionally. In the beginning of the 1860s, the bodice ended at the waist. New styles emerged and the Garibaldi blouse, made its appearance. During the early 1860s, the hoops of the skirts were also taking on an elliptical shape, with a much fuller back and a narrower front silhouette. [11] The ensuing conical shaped skirts have also inspired the steampunk fashion. At the beginning of the 20th century, skirts that were flared at the hem became popular. Dresses for women were sometimes masculine tailored and made to look intimidating. Evening wear for women were decorated with sparkling beads, bangles and gaudy embroideries. The hobble skirt was also introduced at that time.
Steampunk fashion did originally not include much jewelry, but a few accoutrements have made their way into the style during the 2010s. [10]
In steampunk fashion, corsets are more of a clothing item than an undergarment. Being rather conspicuous, they have more or less become synonymous with the genre. [3] Corsets in brocade or leather, with steel-boning are a form of steampunk clothing inspired by the Victorian era. [9]
Brass goggles have become a trademark for steampunk fashion. [8] Brass items are also a kind of official, standard steampunk accessory. [3] Goggles with intricate patterns on large, round frames are the most commonly used ones. Hats in steampunk fashion may include all kinds of headgear like flight helmets, bowler hats, pith helmets and pirates' bandanas. The headgear in steampunk fashion is also inspired by Victorian era fashion styles. [9]
Many of the skirt and dress styles worn in Steampunk fashion are derivative of Victorian era silhouettes (bell skirts, trumpet skirts, bustled skirts, etc.), but with a sexier, modern twist. [12]
In 2005, Kate Lambert, known professionally as "Kato", founded the first steampunk clothing company, "Steampunk Couture", [13] mixing Victorian, post-apocalyptic and tribal influences as well as sci-fi, shabby chic [13] [14] and Harajuku/Mori girl elements. [15] [16] As early as 2010, high fashion lines such as Prada, [17] Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Chanel [18] and Christian Dior [19] began introducing steampunk and neo-Victorian-inspired styles on the fashion runways. And in episode 7 of Lifetime's "Project Runway: Under the Gunn" reality series, contestants were challenged to create avant-garde "steampunk chic" looks. [20] Steampunk masks made by Ukrainian design studio Bob Basset, named by William Gibson as "Probably the single best steampunk object I've seen", [21] using by music band members: Sid Wilson from Slipknot and Zac Baird from Korn.
Since the early 2000s, steampunk fashion has been used frequently in films, photography and on television. Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes and Warehouse 13 are examples of this. [3] Films like The Golden Compass , Van Helsing , 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007 film)' and The Three Musketeers also include elements of steampunk ideas and steampunk fashion. Steampunk fashion has also been showing up in music, such as in Lindsay Stirling's music video "Roundtable Rival". [22] Members of the alternative band Abney Park perform in steampunk attire. [23]
The crime show Castle had a steampunk-themed episode in which the title character is shown wearing a complete steampunk outfit after meeting with a steampunk society. [24]
America's Next Top Model tackled Steampunk fashion in a 2012 episode where models competed in a Steampunk themed photo shoot, posing in front of a steam train while holding a live owl. [25]
Becky Lynch, a wrestler currently employed by WWE, uses ring attire influenced by steampunk fashion. Most notable being her goggles she wears in her entrance.
Steampunk fashion has evolved into a culture of imaginative dressing, inspired by the aesthetics of the past. Modern-day fashion critics have actively sought to deconstruct steampunk as a term and as a philosophy in the context of fashion. Modern trends in steampunk fashion are grouped into historical recreationists and sci-fi cosplayers. [6] Since the first steampunk convention in 2006, SalonCon, there have been a number of similar conventions where enthusiasts dress up as characters from steampunk culture. Modern steampunk clothing is based more on leather and metal as opposed to cotton or natural fabrics. More recently, steampunk has also been linked to fetishism, the genderqueer community and modern paganism.
In 2010, steampunk fashion entered the high-end market of fashion as designer John Galliano brought elements from the style to his spring haute couture show for Christian Dior. [19] Another designer associated with the steampunk style is Jean Paul Gaultier, who frequently shows corsets in different material in his collections. [2] As of 2015 [update] , steampunk fashion started to influence the more mainstream fashion trends. [2] [3]
Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by, but not limited to, 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or the American frontier, where steam power remains in mainstream use, or in a fantasy world that similarly employs steam power.
Gothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the goth subculture. A dark, sometimes morbid, fashion and style of dress, typical gothic fashion includes black dyed hair and black clothes. Both male and female goths can wear dark eyeliner, dark nail polish and lipstick, and dramatic makeup. Styles are often borrowed from the Elizabethans and Victorians. BDSM imagery and paraphernalia are also common. Gothic fashion is sometimes confused with heavy metal fashion and emo fashion.
A corset is a support garment worn to hold and train the torso into the desired shape and posture. They are traditionally constructed out of fabric with boning made of whalebone or steel, a stiff panel in the front called a busk which holds the torso rigidly upright, and some form of lacing which allows the garment to be tightened. Corsets were an essential undergarment in European women's fashion from the 17th century to the early 20th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries they were commonly known as "stays" and had a more conical shape. This later evolved into the curvaceous 19th century form which is commonly associated with the corset today. By the beginning of the 20th century, shifting gender roles and the onsets of World War I and II led the corset to be largely discarded by mainstream fashion.
Victorian fashion consists of the various fashions and trends in British culture that emerged and developed in the United Kingdom and the British Empire throughout the Victorian era, roughly from the 1830s through the 1890s. The period saw many changes in fashion, including changes in styles, fashion technology and the methods of distribution. Various movement in architecture, literature, and the decorative and visual arts as well as a changing perception of gender roles also influenced fashion.
The corset is a supportive undergarment for women, dating, in Europe, back several centuries, evolving as fashion trends have changed and being known, depending on era and geography, as a pair of bodies, stays and corsets. The appearance of the garment represented a change from people wearing clothes which fit their bodies to changing the shape of their bodies to support and fit their fashionable clothing.
Victorian dress reform was an objective of the Victorian dress reform movement of the middle and late Victorian era, led by various reformers who proposed, designed, and wore clothing considered more practical and comfortable than the fashions of the time.
A bodice is an article of clothing traditionally for women and girls, covering the torso from the neck to the waist. The term typically refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the 18th century, or to the upper portion of a modern dress to distinguish it from the skirt and sleeves. The name bodice is etymologically an odd plural spelling of "body" and comes from an older garment called a pair of bodies.
A ball gown, ballgown or gown is a type of evening gown worn to a ball or a formal event. Most versions are cut off the shoulder with a low décolletage, exposed arms, and long bouffant styled skirts. Such gowns are typically worn with opera-length white gloves, vintage jewelry or couture, and a stole, cape, or cloak in lieu of a coat. Where "state decorations" are to be worn, they are on a bow pinned to the chest, and married women wear a tiara if they have one. Although synthetic fabrics are now sometimes used, the most common fabrics are satin, silk, taffeta and velvet with trimmings of lace, pearls, sequins, embroidery, ruffles, ribbons, rosettes and ruching.
Clothing terminology comprises the names of individual garments and classes of garments, as well as the specialized vocabularies of the trades that have designed, manufactured, marketed and sold clothing over hundreds of years.
Gunne Sax is a retired clothing label owned by Jessica McClintock, Inc., which specialized in formal and semi-formal wear for young women. Eleanor Bailey and Carol Miller co-founded the label in San Francisco in 1967, before partnering with Jessica McClintock in 1969 for a $5,000 investment.
1850s fashion in Western and Western-influenced clothing is characterized by an increase in the width of women's skirts supported by crinolines or hoops, the mass production of sewing machines, and the beginnings of dress reform. Masculine styles began to originate more in London, while female fashions originated almost exclusively in Paris.
Fashion in the period 1795–1820 in European and European-influenced countries saw the final triumph of undress or informal styles over the brocades, lace, periwigs and powder of the earlier 18th century. In the aftermath of the French Revolution, no one wanted to appear to be a member of the French aristocracy, and people began using clothing more as a form of individual expression of the true self than as a pure indication of social status. As a result, the shifts that occurred in fashion at the turn of the 19th century granted the opportunity to present new public identities that also provided insights into their private selves. Katherine Aaslestad indicates how "fashion, embodying new social values, emerged as a key site of confrontation between tradition and change."
Western fashion in the 1920s underwent a modernization. Women's fashion continued to evolve from the restrictions of gender roles and traditional styles of the Victorian era. Women wore looser clothing which revealed more of the arms and legs, that had begun at least a decade prior with the rising of hemlines to the ankle and the movement from the S-bend corset to the columnar silhouette of the 1910s. Men also began to wear less formal daily attire and athletic clothing or 'Sportswear' became a part of mainstream fashion for the first time.
Fashion in the period 1900–1909 in the Western world continued the severe, long and elegant lines of the late 1890s. Tall, stiff collars characterize the period, as do women's broad hats and full "Gibson Girl" hairstyles. A new, columnar silhouette introduced by the couturiers of Paris late in the decade signaled the approaching abandonment of the corset as an indispensable garment.
This is a list of existing articles related to fashion and clothing. For individual designers, see List of fashion designers
A dress is a one-piece outer garment that is worn on the torso and hangs down over the legs and is primarily worn by women or girls. Dresses often consist of a bodice attached to a skirt.
A basque is an item of women's clothing. The term, of French origin, originally referred to types of bodice or jacket with long tails, and in later usage a long corset, characterized by a close, contoured fit and extending past the waistline over the hips. It is so called because the original French fashion for long women's jackets was adopted from Basque traditional dress. In contemporary usage it refers only to a long item of lingerie, in effect a brassiere that continues down, stopping around the waist or the top of the hips, the lower part essentially decorative rather than providing support or indeed warmth.
In fashion, a sheath dress is a fitted, straight cut dress, often nipped at the waistline with no waist seam. When constructing the dress, the bodice and skirt are joined together by combining the skirt darts into one dart: this aligns the skirt darts with the bodice waist dart. The dress emphasizes the waist as its skirt portion is fitted. While the sheath dress can come in many patterns and lengths, it often is worn with short sleeves and reaches knee length.
A waist cincher is a belt worn around the waist to make the wearer's waist physically smaller, or to create the illusion of being smaller.
Kate Lambert, known professionally as "Kato", is a British model, fashion designer, singer and entrepreneur. A native of Wales, Kato emigrated to the United States in 2007. She became a US citizen in 2019.
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