Emo alternative clothing evolved from the snowballing post-punk movement as it swept through the US in the late 90s. The music was melancholy, not angry – the attitude was of the outcast not the anarchist, yet the look remained initially true to its old-school punk roots. Emphasis remained on avoiding the mainstream, homemade band shirts, embracing individuality, rejecting fashion and moreover rejecting the tenants of established society. It was this universal and all-permeating disregard for fads and trends that ironically made emo what it is today – the most mainstream, high-fashion and trendy branch of rock culture in existence.
The modern emo uniform is fairly unisex. Skinny jeans available from big-brand clothes shops simulate the ill-fitting second-hand clothes worn by the followers of 90s punk. Accessories similarly have their roots firmly founded in the earlier punk accessories of yesteryears. Homemade wooden or hemp items have been replaced with shagbands, plugs and cat ears – the homemade custom shirt has been usurped by mass-produced band t shirts printed on black cotton, fitted skinny and short to show off studded belts; themselves a hangover from the spiked metal prevalent on earlier punk accessories and clothing. Even the pseudo-alternative emo fringe is a stylised evolution of the Spock Rock ‘do of the same period.
But it all seems a little bit like emo fashion is missing the point. Surely the core of rock culture, the punk movement from which emo evolved and even early emo fashion was distancing oneself from all the image-conscious trappings of society? Is it sad that in trying so hard to refuse trends, the forefathers of emo found themselves world-class trend-setters?
Of course not. Not if you follow emo fashion, anyway. While emo may be the trendy, high-fashion and mainstream cousin of the more established alternative clothing styles, it is an entity unto its own. Distinctive clothing styles, alternative or otherwise are high-fashion by their nature and despite its initial mistakes, emo need not be restricted to the big name highstreet retailers. Alternative clothing and rock culture has always been centred around thrift, small niche shops and boutiques. Goth wear, punk duds and accessories, rockabilly clothing – they can all be high fashion and popular, yet retain legitimacy through their failure to help Top Shop raise their profits another .7% per quarter.
Emo has fallen out with its rock brethren by becoming so commercial and losing its soul in the process, but this shouldn’t mean the entire movement is condemned. Just as your favourite band suddenly start to sound worse and worse and they get more and more popular, so too does emo. More often than not though, that fourth album will do enough to win you back.
I’m not saying emo will be coming home any time soon, but the mainstream is a fickle thing and while trends are short-lived, the driving ideologies behind them seldom are – we’re already beginning to see a slow shift of tight, short shirts traditionally printed with George or Top Man brands migrate slowly back to boutiques and small businesses. If this is indeed the beginning of the end for commercial emo, other alternative clothing styles beware – you just might be next.
