Tracing the Provenance of Punk in Fashion From 1977 to Today

Punk was born 40 years ago in London, and its raw, DIY ethos is still influencing designers of every stripe—especially when it feels like the world’s hanging by a thread. One could feel punk’s influence today at Christopher Kane, where in place of the humble safety pin (the movement’s favorite accessory), grommets and binder-ring-like closures were used to hold together a peek-a-boo dress. Because Kane has worked for Versace, this dress can also be seen as an homage of sorts to Gianni Versace’s Spring 1994 collection, the one in which he used oversize logo safety pins to connect the panels of barely there dresses. The image of Elizabeth Hurley in one on the red carpet is seared into our brains. At Balmain for Spring 2011, Christophe Decarnin adopted a slash-and-destroy approach, employing safety pins for decorative as well as structural use; Zandra Rhodes used chains to similar effect more than 30 years earlier. Though one of the first in fashion to adapt the punk look to the runway, Rhodes has acknowledged that “any self-respecting real punk would have had nothing to do with me.” In contrast, fashion rebels, then as now, say, “Rage on!”