Designer 2: Carri Mundane

Carri Munden's label "Cassette Playa" is the perfect example of a futuristic and ultra modern version of the 1980's - 1990's "Second Summer of Love" style. Linking to my earlier post "Psychedelic B-boy", I believe that Munden's designs have the mixture of the B-boy style with the extremely colourful palette of a psychedelic hippie.

Looking at the garment type and styling which is geared towards the B-boy influence on the raver's style, Mundane has designed; sneakers/ trainers, matching shell suits, large sportswear logos on show, gold chains, caps, graphic T's, loose jeans and generally oversized clothing.

 

The image below on the left is a good representation of the 60's psychedelic influence on the second summer of love. Using the new technology that we have available to us, such as digital printing Carri Mundane has created a vibrant print mimicking the tie-dye and marbling techniques that were used on garments during the "Summer of Love" and then carried through to the "Second Summer of Love".

 



 

Carri Mundane has also collaborated with Nike to create a pair of Cassette Playa Blazers, freshmag.com wrote that the colours used in the high top sneaker reflect "the faded neon's of the eighties", just as the multi coloured T-shirts were printed in the 80's

In an interview Carri Munden spoke about the fact that her designs come from an interest in music and technology, as every DJ would have. Munden's interest is mainly focused on the technology involved in circuit bending and creating virtual video games. Whereas the DJ of the second summer of love era would have mainly been  interested in the latest mixing technology to create the next big acid house track.

 

http://vimeo.com/85441559

This is a video clip of the work which Carri Mundane produced in collaboration with Aaron Chan who created the special effects. This creation was shown at the Tate Modern "Hyperlink" exhibition which was aimed to encourage young people to get involved in the arts.

When she was interviewed by "The Daily Street" she told them that "I live for metal, rave, industrial, EBM and garage and grime.", this and that fact that she has " I referred to Cassette Playa as luxury street wear brand" is a prime example of the strong link between the culture in the Second Summer of Love and Carri Mundane's work as she's influenced by her love of dance music and her market is still veered towards urban street wear, just improved with luxury fabrics and technology.

Designer 1: Jeremy Scott

Jeremy Scott

Jeremy Scott's collections are typically wild, bold, and include every colour under the rainbow. What initially made me think of him, was his interpretation of urban street wear, collaborating with Adidas.

This combination of bold neon colours has a strong connection to the acid house subculture within the second summer of love. They were the main mascots of neon colour palettes in the illegal raves of the 80's. Where glow sticks, multi-coloured whistles and repetitive strobe lights were popular, and have stuck with us ever since.

 

 

 

The clashing prints that Scott commonly uses, reminds me of the hippy influence in the raver's style. Combining floral, tie-die, and logo prints to build as much colour into their outfit as possible.

 

 

Then of course the style, garment type and garment combination portrays the urban hip-hop/ B-boy influence on a clubbers outfit. This was by a combination of Frankie Knuckles influence on Dance and House music during the Second Summer of Love era, but also after the football hooligans raided popular Italian fashion stores during the world cup and came back in full Adidas, Lacoste and Umbro track suits.

 

 

 

 The clubbers would also combine different types of fabrics into their outfits, as does Jeremy Scott in his collections. For example they sometimes used a combination of lycra, denim and jersey back in the 80's and in the image above Scott uses a combination of knitted wear, PVC and what looks like a silk or satin underneath the PVC.

As I researched the link between Jeremy Scott and the "Second Summer of Love" style I found the video clip of his AW12/13 collection....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diPR7vhqAmI

 

For a start one of the opening close up shots of the garments shows a print incorporated in a knitted jumper which is of a series of different "smiley's". The smiley face being pretty much the staple logo for the Second Summer of Love period because of ecstasy pills being  so popular.

 

 

One of the next shots is of the jewels being applied to the models brow line and placing a multi-coloured, flashing bindi in the middle. Again this links to the flashing lights and glow sticks around the clubs during that era.

Last but not least Scott's choice of music for his AW12/13 collection portrays two of the biggest tunes played in raves in the early 90's;

2 Unlimited - No Limit

Sash! - Encore Une Fois

 Hearing the songs on this catwalk show assured me of Scott's link between the rave subculture, and his work. It took me back to the reason why I chose to look at this subculture in the first place, as my mum would listen to these exact tunes in the clubs when I was little.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Party People at Work

Neon Then

Casual Raver

Lulu

New Rave

Casual Ravers

There's also a strong link between the Ravers and the Casuals. Although from what I have researched the main sportswear influence into the Rave scene came for the B-boy subculture, the strongest influence came from the football fans during that period.

Before the Liverpool fans introduced England to European fashion, people were still wearing platform boots, flares and shirts to football matches. This is why I chose the image above, cause it seams so ironic that those hooligans are beating up their opponent's fans when they're wearing those clothes. So while the Liverpool fans were following their team in across Europe they emptied the fashion stores, robbing as much as they possibly could.

When they returned they literally set the fashion for football fans, wearing expensive Italian and French sportswear labels such as; Lacoste, Sergio Tacchini, Fila and Adidas trainers.

Psychedelic B-boy

Looking at the history of where the Rave scene grew from it has become apparent to me that the type of fashion and the mutual purpose between the people who go to raves has come from a combination of the 1970's psychedelic hippy, and the 1980's B-boy subcultures...

Hippie Trend:
Flares, Mix-matching prints, Ethnic Prints, Tie dye T-shirts, Head bands, Floral prints, Tinted sunglasses, Multi-coloured, and the incorporation of the 'Peace' sign somewhere in the outfit.

B-boy Trend:
Sneakers/ Trainers, Multi-coloured, Matching Shell suits, Large sportswear logos on show, Gold chains, Caps, Graphic T's, Loose Jeans and generally OVERSIZED clothing.

The Godfarther of House Music

Frankie Knuckles actually started studying Textile Design at FIT in Manhattan. He then began his DJing career at the Continental Baths in New York city, then after The Warehouse opened in Chicago in 1977 he was regularly ask to play his sets there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBXfyCXlzz0
It was Knuckles that pushed the mix of dance, hip-hop and disco music in the clubs, producing his own remixes to keep up with the trends in the clubs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOLE1YE_oFQ

At the 40th Grammy Awards, Frankie Knuckles received the first Grammy award for 'Remixer of The Year' which goes to show how he played such an integral role in the growth of the club/rave scene.

The Birth of House Musice

The Warehouse, Chicago, 1970's
The Warehouse club in Chicago, Illinois is said to be the birth place of 'house music' . The club was established in 1977 and provided a night that included a variety dance, hip-hop and disco music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6_FropjJzE

It was popular for providing after-hours clubbing, when most of the bars in Chicago would shut at 3 AM.
One of the main things that made it so successful was the fact that no race, ethnicity, or sexuality was frowned upon.

This reminds me of my first experience of a rave in 2010 at G.L.A.S (gay lesbian and straight), in The Rainbow Warehouse where literally everyone was there to have a good time and listen to dance and house music from the past 3-4 decades.
Just to think how popular would events like this be if there was no Warehouse in Chicago?
G.L.A.S, Birmingham, 2010

The Origins...

Deriving from the psychedelic era of the 1970's hippie, the age of ecstasy and MDMA brought people together. They followed the P.L.U.R way of life, repressing peace, love, unity and respect. This led to the creation of the 'Summer of Love' period.

The consequences of the Vietnam War brought people together, and particularly the hippies who would protest "Make Love Not War". This is relevant for showing how during the bad times these subcultures force their way though, to fight for everything to go back to normal.
    
Margaret Thatcher brought in the criminal justice bill to cut down the number of illegal raves in the U.K during the '80s. Unfortunately for her and the police forces, this only made people want to party harder, just in secret. They fought for they're right to a good time, just as the Hippies fought for peace during the Vietnam War.