Grunge
Grunge style was born at the end of the 80’s, beginning of the 90’s in the streets of Seattle, Washington. This style was popularized with the regional growth of alternative rock music. Bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Hole, Sonic Youth and more were the inspiration of this style. At that time grunge was connected to financial hardships and to the rejection of capitalism. People that dressed like that were considered “nonconformists”.
Wearing mix-matched clothes, in particular oversized plaid flannel shirts or lose jeans with rips or holes are some of the characteristics of grunge style. The hairstyles were messy and limp, like for example, they didn’t brush their hair. With this and “holey ripped jeans” they gave people the impression they were not overly concerned and that they were against capitalism. “We buy shit we don’t need, with money we don’t have, to impress people we don’t like” Tyler Durden from Fight Club film.
Grunge was not only a genre of music. There are films and tv series with under tones of grunge, for example, films like Kids, Singles, and documentaries like Hype and the TV series My so called life. Generally all portray teenage anger and the youth spirit of the 90’s.
The fashion industry was of course also a victim of grunge. It became a “bubble up” movement where street style started to inspire fashion designers. Marc Jacobs is recognized as the most famous designer to encapsulate grunge in the 90’s. In 1992, he designed a collection for Perry Ellis. He’s words were that “It came from a genuine feeling for what I saw on the streets and all around me”. This collection was so controversial that he got fired from Perry Ellis, but it is his favourite collection of all time.
Photographers like Corinne Day, Nan Goldin, Mario Sorrenti and Juergen Teller in particular, really encapsulate “grunge” through their pictures. In their photographs they used iconic models that were at the peak of their career in the 90’s. Kate Moss, Vanessa Paradis and Kristen Mcmenamy were some of the grunge muses with their “I don’t care” attitudes. Some celebrities had also big importance in this époque. Drew Barrymore and Chloe Sevigny from the Kids’ cast were truly grunge goddesses.
Nowadays this fashion trend had come back. Grunge is becoming mainstream and commercial. Anywhere we can buy flannel shirts, Levis’ jeans and Vans trainers but it is the way you use it that portrays grunge. Lots of layers, mixing patterns, for example, mixing florals with plaid, using of dirty and dull colours such as beige, grey, black and brown, all these characteristics make grunge. However, people are not only adopting their fashion style, they are also adopting their life style. It is trendy to be what you want to be, it is trendy to be individualist. In Kurt Cobain words “I’d rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not” but people are converting this individualism in a bad way. They are becoming more narcissistic than ever.
Melissa Pereira