Some Unholy War: Punk Identity and Rituals

‘Some Unholy War’ is based on the development of 1990’s Goth and Punk subcultures, working through themes of identity, rituals and the human experience.

Designer Jordana Halperin explains how she was “initially interested in a quote from Ted Polhemus’ ‘Hot bodies cool styles: new techniques in self-adornment’, “To decorate the body is to transform it into a meaningful system. A language.” I began questioning the body as a vessel for abstract expression, and social significance. What message are we trying to communicate through self-adornment techniques? When integrated into subculture, do these messages lose meaning or do narrative and numbers strengthen them?

Embodying the glamour of androgyny, forms of the sombre, the sinister and the macabre, I aim to interrogate Western cultural taboos surrounding club-culture, sexuality, and femininity. Tailored, biker-style silhouettes, made from unique tactile materials: leather, latex, PVC, and recycled pantyhose combine hard and soft elements for progressive design outcomes. Local artists apply body augmentation techniques such as tattooing and piercing directly to pieces. Garments are used as a form of self-expression, showing influence from DIY fashion movements, modernizing the inspirations to develop new language systems.”

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