Afro-punk

 new style has broken onto the fashion scene. This style is called Afropunk. You are probably wondering what is Afropunk? Well Afropunk does not have a solid definition yet, seeing how it is a young style, but I can help you figure out your own definition by showing you examples and where the style was born.

The style actually originated from the music festival, Afropunk Fest. Afropunk, is similar to punk, but it is specific to African-Americans and blacks. It is more of a fusion of other styles and punk, more specifically reggae, hip-hop and punk. All Afropunk bands must contain all black members, and the festival is just a large gathering of these particular punk bands.  One well known Afro-punk band is A Company that Makes Everything and Flatbush Zombies.

From this festival, a particular style emerged. It was a away for African-Americans to claim their own spot in punk, because when punk first began there were very few people of color included. So Afro-punk is a way of almost reclaiming punk. The style includes wearing large natural hair such as afros or huge buns, or braids. The larger your hair is, the better. As a woman of color myself it is nice t see a style that embraces natural hair, since most styles these days ask for straighten or altered hair.

Classic punk is considered to be dark heavy clothes, but since afro-punk is a rebellion against the classical form of punk, the clothing tends to be lighter and filled with more patterns. Patterns are an important part of afro-punk. Since the music style is a fusion of genres, i only makes sense that the style is rich and blended as well. It does take on some of the elements of punk like the occasional black or heavy jewelry, and maybe even a spike or two. Yet it must be thought of as a different style from punk, it’s Afro-punk!!!! Many people refer to Afro-punk as a revolution and a home full of colors and patterns.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBl52yROHS0

Last Words

     

One photographer,  Annabel Mehran, decided to take the dark topic of suicide and turn into into a fashion spread for Vice Magazine. In the spread, Mehran captured the suicides of famous female authors, ie. Sylvia Plath, Virginia Wolff, Dorothy Parker, and more. Models portrayed these famous writers in the moments just before their famous suicides. Under each picture is what designer the model is wearing as well as the price. This well photographed spread has gotten a lot of heat, and not for no reason. Suicide is a very touchy topic that makes a lot of people uncomfortable.

The spread titled, “Last Words” was part of Vice Magazine’s 2013 Fiction Issue. At first Vice thought that they were celebrating the lives of authors that should have lived longer, but after the back lash the magazine published an apology giving their reasoning for the issue and apologizing to those offended. It was never the magazine’s intention to be offense, they just wanted to do something original.

My response to the fashion spread was filled with mixed emotions. The photos were beautiful and the clothes elegant… giving the images this romantic dreaminess.  Yet suicide, while romanticized in many movies and novels, is a dark emotional thing. I feel like the spread was not thinking about the families of the authors, who were forced to relive a traumatic incident of a loved one. In the fashion world, there tends to be a competition for who can be the most shocking or innovative. Fashion is all about capturing the eye and making people think twice about what they are seeing. Another fashion spread that had received some criticism in the past was Kate Moss’s spread for W Magazine, where she portrayed good in evil.

 Some found this spread to be mocking the church. Personally I wasn’t very offended by this spread. At least not as much as the vice spread. The thing about fashion, and any from of art, is that in order to evolve new and risky things must be tried, and sometimes it might just go a little over board.

Poppies in October

Even the sun-clouds this morning cannot manage such skirts.

Nor the woman in the ambulance

Whose red heart blooms through her coat so astoundingly –

A gift, a love gift

Utterly unasked for

By a sky

Palely and flamily

Igniting its carbon monoxides, by eyes

Dulled to a halt under bowlers.

Oh my God, what am I

That these late mouths should cry open

In a forest of frosts, in a dawn of cornflowers.

Sylvia Plath (27 October 1962)

Here is a link to the photos from the spread:

Link to the photos from the spread

–Ruby Aiyo