Punk and fashion have always been inextricably laced. Iconic designer and punk grand dame Vivienne Westwood knew this at the beginning of the movement, and even opened a store in the middle of London called Seditionaries (formerly called SEX), which catered specifically to the punk demographic. Personal style that broke the mold of was the billboard of youth rebellion.
In the 1970s and 1980s, The Washington Post commissioned British photographer Robin Laurance to document a new breed of cool kids who brazenly wore studded, black leather jackets and motorcycle boots and used safety pins as embellishments on their clothes as well as their ears, and who had adapted several cues from the bondage aesthetic to their everyday style. They were an immediate response to changes in music, art, literature and sociopolitical ideologies that favored anti-establishment, individuality and freedom.
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| (Robin Laurance/For The Washington Post) |
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| Punk queen Edwige Belmore with designer Michel Klein sitting on a Rolls Royce in front of a party the designer was throwing on October 29, 1977. London, UK (Robin Laurance for The Washington Post) |
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| Bonita and Shane Kelley from Portsmouth on their wedding day. (Robin Laurance for The Washington Post) |
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| Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, photographed at her shop Seditionaries on 430 Kings Road. Formerly called ‘SEX’ the store’s name changed in 1977 and was a staple for buying clothing geared towards punks. (Robin Laurance for The Washington Post) |
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| Punk Beverly Harris from Nottingham, England in a black cotton bondage jacket. (Robin Laurance for The Washington Post) |
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| A woman named Marena, whose spiked hair and studded leather biker jacket were key signifiers of members of the punk subculture. (Robin Laurance for The Washington Post) |
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| Debbie, at 16, who worked in Vivienne Westwood’s Seditionaries clothing store, wears urban guerilla garb (Robin Laurance for The Washington Post) |
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| Tamera Edminister (Photo by John Dwyier/The Washington Post) |
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| Niki Savidies ( left) and Rena Pitts standing outside the London College of Art. (Robin Laurance for The Washington Post) |
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| Punks Nick Hughes and Marina (Robin Laurance for The Washington Post) |