Can You Be Punk and Still Shop at Shein? The Short Answer is No.
Throughout history, there have been many different subcultures of the alternative movement. These groups created their fashion and ideology largely based on the political movements or music genres at the time. A lot of these subcultures have stuck around and evolved with the times, holding onto the roots of their past while blossoming into the modern age.
Image Courtesy: Instagram
Subcultures are far more accessible than they ever have been thanks to the internet, which has allowed people from conservative and liberal backgrounds alike to find who they are in a more rapid and consumable way. You can hop on social media and read all about how cool it is to be punk and how goth music has a specific synth sound that cannot be replicated. Each subculture is truly their own, from music to fashion to makeup and hairstyles.
One thing that unites most subcultures, however, is the aspect of DIY culture. If you go back to its beginnings in both New York and London in the mid ‘70s, the scene exploded as a reaction to the ideals of the Hippie movement from the ‘60s (source). Punks believed the same things, fundamentally, as they believe in peace, love, and equality. Where they differ, and where the whole movement started, was the frustration with the lack of progress from the hippies. They were angry and pissed off, and the younger generations– mostly teenagers in the mid ‘70s– didn’t see a point in peacefully protesting for a new world, when they feared there would be no world left very soon. In an attempt to keep their world for as long as possible, punks began DIY-ing their clothes. It was a form of recycling on one hand– reusing clothes that already existed to not allow more to end up in the landfill– but also as a form of self expression. Even within a subculture, everyone is different, and everyone has their own idea of individuality, their own idea of what makes them, them.
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Yet, even though so much of the Punk subculture has stayed intact, there is something that has changed in the past couple of years. With the rise of rapid consumerism aimed towards younger generations (in this case Gen Z and Gen Alpha), as well as the ability to self identify with any community one wants, there is often a discrepancy between what a subculture believes and what the modern youth take it to be.
Since 2020, with the birth of the COVID-19 lockdown, some influencers on Tiktok have been pushing fast fashion brands that not only use cheap, unethical labor, but also promote buying in bulk multiple times a month in order to have the “newest” closet that’s the most “up to date.” This issue is widespread throughout all cultures, not just alternative ones, but is very rampant and widely hated in the punk community.
With influencers like Caroline Carr or TX2, or even brands like Dollskill, the idea of punk is no longer about anti-establishmentism or equality, but rather how much eyeliner you can put on and what fun colors you can dye your hair. They– and many others– push commercialism to its fullest extent, prodding people to buy battle jackets wholesale, as well as speaking over actual punk voices who are trying to teach young people in the community how they can make these things themselves. After all, that is the whole point of punk, isn’t it? Or at least it used to be.
Image Courtesy: Instagram
There is a large disconnect nowadays between ideals and aesthetics, and at the end of the day, it is hurting these people who have always existed in these communities. Yes, clothing is important to the punk community, and yes, most punk people will have DIY-ed their whole wardrobe, but at the end of the day, it boils down to politics. Punk people, as mentioned above, believe in equality, believe in the downfall of rigid, fascist governments. Hell, look at Green Day’s 2016 performance of “Bang Bang” (source). During the breakdown of the song, Billie Joe Armstrong breaks out in a chant of, “no Trump, no KKK, no Fascist USA,” yet influencers still think it's ok to promote Green Day merch sold on sites like Shein.
While there is no one “right” way to be punk, there are– evidently– many wrong ways. The fast fashion industry has many issues: from clogging landfills, to inhumane treatment of workers, to scamming of customers. And, at the end of the day, punk people do not support that, no matter how much influencers like to think they did.
Strike Out,
E Dunsmuir
St. Augustine
Editor: Maya Kayyal
E Dunsmuir (he/they) is a writer for Strike St. Augustine. He loves Victorian England, emo music, and anything to do with horror. When they're not writing for Strike, he’s probably texting his boyfriend or watching TV with their roommates. You can reach him at edunsmuir66@gmail.com or @edunsmuir66 on most social media platforms.
