When you ask people about “alternative” fashion scenes you often find the same few appearing repeatedly. Styles like goth and bohemian are engrained into the public conscious. Steampunk, however, is a rarer one, but its following is gaining in popularity.
The first point you may ask is what is it? According to Klaude Davenport, co-host of the highly successful weekly steampunk radio show “The Clockwork Cabaret” and co-organizer of a bi-monthly Steampunk event The Clockwork Ball, steampunk is founded on the idea of “Victorian anachronism”. She describes how steampunk takes a “quintessentially Victorian aesthetic and twists it in a fashion that creates a beautiful anachronism” while “accentuating the beauty and functionality of both eras”. Steampunk is based on a world that is still powered by steam, so has high Victorian influences while combining it with pure fantasy such as that seen in H. G. Wells and Jules Verne novels. It is this juxtaposition that gives the scene its distinctive yet elegant style.
While steampunk is a wide, constantly evolving style, it has several running motifs throughout its dress. One of the main features is deconstruction, where objects and other pieces of Victorian technology, especially clockwork ones, are taken apart and used to decorate the outfit. Modern objects are also deconstructed and rebuilt to fit with the Victorian style, usually remade in iron and polished brass, further enhancing the Victorian aesthetic. This same idea of deconstruction applies to the Victorian aspects of the clothes in both visual and symbolic ways. The clothes themselves are modified to fit modern sensibilities so it is common to see exposed bustle cages and revealed corsets. This new trend also blurs the boundaries of both class and gender. Many outfits combine the finery of the Victorian upper classes and gentry, with the tools and fashions of the poorer, industrial classes of the time. In the steampunk universe, women often take on significantly male fashion and combine it with the traditional dress of the time, and thus it is not uncommon to see women in the costume of heavy industry, something that would have been unthinkable during the period. Klaude says: “the most important way to look steampunk is through accessories. It is easy to take a simple charity shop outfit and turn it into something spectacular through the use of accessories”. She also recommends utilizing “jewellery, pocket watches, pins, brooches, hats and hair accessories, neckerchiefs and cravats” to add style, depth and originality to your outfit.
But where do you go to buy these exquisite pieces? Well, steampunk places a very high priority on doing it yourself, and has a large art scene. Klaude points out that “truly gorgeous steampunk fashion is highly steeped in the DIY ethic and the best costumes you’ll see will come with a story of sleepless nights, furiously stitching and gluing.”
In many ways it is this story that underlies the scene. The time and effort you put in should give you an outfit that reflects your ideas and personality, not that of some designer living somewhere in central London. This ethos can mean scouring charity shops and modifying what you find to fit your personal preference, and adapting it as you see fit, such as adding extra pockets to make a costume more suitable for a worker persona.
Due to its relatively new nature, steampunk is still evolving and thus its visual style is also continuously developing, unlike many older scenes, which are stagnating. People are always finding new ways to amaze with their creative costuming. However, despite all of this, steampunk is a highly welcoming and friendly scene, but the basis of it is, as it has always been, originality and creativity. Steampunk is all about taking something and making it your own.
Klaude’s radio show: http://www.clockworkcabaret.com/
Jonathan Greenall
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