Origins
The New Romantics is a subculture movement that emerged from the working class youths of London. The movement began in the late 1970s and lasted to the later parts of the 1980s. It was associated with a new music wave and unique fashion. The fashion aspect of the movement emerged out of “Billy’s”, a club that was located on Dean Street, London. This nightclub held famous events which were called Bowie and Roxy Music nights. Young people found punk rock unattractive and wanted something different. It is this unique blend of post-punk and fashion that grew into the New Romantics subculture. The young people in the movement wanted a new style that showed self-expression, difference and noticeability. In 1979, “Billy’s” became small for the crowd that it attracted. Steve Strange, the organizer, relocated to Blitz nightclub in Covenant Garden or “The Blitz”, a club that is now closely attached to the movement.
Individuals closely associated with the New Romantics culture are famous musicians like Boy George and David Bowie. In his own description of the New Romantics, Boy George noted that “Punk had become a parody of itself, an anti-Establishment uniform, attracting hordes of dickheads who wanted to gob, punch and stamp on flowers". George and other young people involved with the movement thought that punk had lost its appeal. It had become pretentious and nauseating. Thus, the New Romantic movement developed out of young people from a working class background to create something that dissociated itself from the punk music. It was an expression of individuality, awakened sexual freedom and disintegration of punk. Those in the subculture had noticed that punk was all about promising to abandon and not follow rules but it did not live up to its promises.
Dress Practices
Fashion was important for the New Romantics. What they wore defined who they were. One characteristic of fashion was the use of excessive make-up. Individuals who went to the Blitz nightclub, famously known as the “Blitz Kids” liked flamboyant colors as opposed to the ripped shirts and jeans of the punk culture. They also heavily practiced gender bending. Counter-sexual clothing and style included men wearing lipstick and eyeshadow. The shirts were styled after the 19th century Romantic Movement’s styles of dressing. The fashion also included exaggerated versions of high-end dressing.
Dressing did not differ from one sex to the other. The New Romantics practiced counter-sexual, androgynous clothing. In the 1980s, the New Romantics sought to blur gender and sexual boundaries. Sexual fluidity was allowed. Trub and Lee observed that gender bending was heavily influenced by people like David Bowie, Bryan Ferry and Philip Oakey. Gender bending was a means of sexual liberation, something that punk rock had inhibited. It also was a way of expressing gender equality and a reaction to the conservatism of the mainstream culture. The fact that men could wear lipstick was unheard of but individuals like Bowie and Boy George made it cooler and more acceptable to the subculture. Below is Boy George;
Political Stance
The New Romantics were against the political conservatism of the time. Political conservatism had affected all aspects of youth life from politics, economics, to the social. Punk rock raged, but provided no real liberation. Cross dressing was a way of showing that despite economic conditions, individuals, especially working class youth could liberate themselves from society and economic tyranny. Another aspect of the subculture was its subtle political origins. It emerged during harsh economic times when Margaret Thatcher experimented with her conservatism and it left most working class people disenfranchised and disappointed in the government. For young people, one way to escape Thatcherism and economic stagnation was to be part of a movement that offered freedom and individuality. The essence of the movement that was becoming famous was not tied to monetary fortunes. The way people dressed was enough to make them famous. Celebrity status did not emerge out of riches but how people conducted themselves. The death of punk spelled the rise of the New Romantics and created a new movement whose taste in fashion and art still influence present day music and art.
Cultural Activities
The New Romantics advocated for an uninhibited sense of self. Even though they were engaged in some form of community by frequenting The Blitz and other New Romantics venues, they valued individuality and the right of people to become whoever they wanted to be. The hair and clothing style was another way of expressing their uniqueness. Everyone wore different colors and style to show that they were different and valued different things. Breaking of well-established norms and traditions was critical to the subculture’s success. They thought that conformity was dangerous to individual growth, thus whatever society thought was an obligation they went against it. The ideas they tried to convey was that out of being outrageous and extravagant, an individual can learn more about who they are. Values came from individuals not the community. Escaping from the daily grind and boggling politics and societal expectations was very much acceptable. Even though, they were called Thatcher’s Children, the New Romantics were vehemently opposed to Thatcherism and the conservative politics of the day. They thought that conservatism was bad for the development of an individual sense of self and it also disenfranchised many working class people.
New Romantics used disparate objects to express themselves. Clothes were important objects for New Romantics. Eccentric romantic themed frilly fop shirts were fused with mullets and wedges to create a unique fashion style. Below is New Romantics fashion;
In addition to fashion style, music played an integral part in the movement. The music they listened to was a toned down version of punk which was called glam rock and disco music. Bowie, Ferry and George’s music helped in spreading the culture to other parts of the United Kingdom and the world. Bowie became a symbol of sexual liberation. This homology is integral to the New Romantics expression. Sexual liberation was not a separate part of individual liberation.
The goal was to dress in a way that showed that one was very different and unique in style and being. This pride in difference is attributed to individuals like David Bowie who through his music videos popularized the New Romantics. Bowie’s video Ashes to Ashes is a classic example of the New Romantics fashion style at work.
Bibliography
Johnson, David. “Spandau Ballet, the Blitz kids and the birth of the New Romantics”. The
Guardian, Accessed from http://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/oct/04/spandau-ballet-new-romantics
naujiejiromantikaitl7, “New Romantics”. Image, 2015.
http://coolinthe80s.com/music/new-
romantics/attachment/naujiejiromantikaitl7/
O'Dowd, George. Take It like a Man: The Autobiography of Boy George. New York:
HarperCollins, 1995.
Pinterest. “Boy George, When Punk moved towards New Romantic” Image, 2015.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/129126714286309300/
Trub, Ralph M. and Woo-Soo Lee. Male Alopecia: Guide to Successful Management. NY, New
York: Springer Sciences, 2014.
Rimmer, David. New Romantics: The Look. London: Music Sales Ltd, 2013.
