From boiler suits, whistles, white gloves and bum bags to cyber pants,
glowsticks, UV dummies and fluffy legwarmers, love it or hate it,
Clubwear has been one of the main elements that has set the UK dance
scene apart from any other emerging youth culture over the last 15
years.
From its underground routes, the freedom to express yourself in not
only your dancing but in how you look has always meant that clubland
has been awash with original designs and vibrant colours sometimes
bordering on the outlandish.
Back in the 1990’s
The free parties and outdoor festivals of the early 90’s gave rise to
such legendary names as Dreamscape, Fantasia and Helter Skelter and saw
the emergence of a new breed of fashion. The neon bright colour clothes
and smiley face t-shirts of clublands acid house beginnings evolved
into day glow work jackets, illuminous vests and white gloves not
forgetting those most essential accessories, a whistle, a horn and a
tub of Vicks Vapour Rub!
In 1994, the government imposed the infamous Criminal Justice Bill
which forced the free-party and underground movement into mainstream
clubs, with many prohibiting this type of early rave fashion and
paraphernalia which stifled much of this early free form of dance
fashion expression.
In the mid to late 90’s much of the UK club fashion was influenced by
the ever popular club culture of Ibiza, with the first sightings on the
scene of the ever immortal clubbing accessory the Fluffy Legwarmer, as
worn by many of the Balearic Islands podiums dancers at the time.
The late 1990’s
The end of the 90’s saw the emergence of the “super club”, with names
such as The Ministry of Sound, Cream and Gatecrasher, taking much
inspiration from the early days of Manchester’s legendary Hacienda,
with UV and strobe lighting and brightly coloured décor. It was at this
time that club fashion started to go back more to its original roots
with club goers wearing much more brightly coloured attire, leading to
the materialisation of a new type of clubbing fashion known as “cyber
wear” with neon colours and UV reflective materials, early pioneers of
this new clubbing trend were clubwear companies such as Cyberdog and
Battery Organic.
Late 90’s to 2000
The late 90’s to early 2000’s saw a re-emergence of the outdoor
festival scene and with it a need for club goers to express themselves
more in their appearance, festivals such as Gatecrasher Summer Sound
System, brought with them loyal groups of followers with outfits
emblazoned with their club emblem, outrageous hairstyles, fluffy
legwarmers, childish backpacks and lashings of UV makeup and the
“Crasher Kid” was born.
The last six years, sexier & more sophisticated than ever
The last six years, has seen a big move towards much sexier and much
more sophisticated clubbing clothing for the ladies, and designer
t-shirts and funky jeans for the lads. Clubwear still holds the
elements of the original scene but has become more creative and diverse
with designers like Contagious Clubwear who did not exist 10-15 years
ago leading the way in cutting edge designs, giving today’s club goer
much more choice to help them stand out from the crowd.
By Claire Frances
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