LIVERPOOL MUSIC STYLE MUSINGS
I’ve woken up on the couch in my Mum’s house with a sore head, dry mouth and two things on my mind. Where can I get food and coffee, but more importantly, what am I going to wear? I’m not gonna wear last night’s all blacked out neo-hip-hop style riggout of baggy black jeans, black varsity jacket, black leather A-Cold-Wall Airmax and my son of a gun top and cap. I slept in those and they probably stink of smoke and gin.
All too familiar with this scenario, I usually squeeze into my Stepdad’s gear. His wardrobe is a well-balanced mishmash of cutting edge scally clobber, smart golf grip and 80s nostalgia. This is an example of mixing genres, like the casuals and football terrace clobber worn with outdoor gear; warm, waterproof and lightweight bits of kit worn together to bring utility to the style. Funny I think, as the night before, we sat and listened to vinyl and talked deeply about his favourite band and record of all time – ‘Animals’ by Pink Floyd. Similarly, what he likes about the music is a mix of two different but important elements. Not just the groundbreaking psychedelic sound of the music, but also the profound lyrics communicating the heavy, serious, and still very relevant, political perspective of the medium. It resonated with him so highly it shaped his life and style. I am almost one hundred percent sure that this mixing of elements through self-expression is why both music and fashion are such a massive part of the identity of Liverpool. On an individual, tribal and a larger, more historical community scale.
It’s helpful having his clothes to borrow for work, although just because I work in the fiercely independent Adapt Outdoors selling outdoor gear, doesn’t mean I dress down for work. If there is any rule about what I should wear, I don’t follow it. I wear whatever I want, I always do. Though, I believe the best way to sell something is by having it on myself. Seeing somebody wear something changes peoples’ opinion of a garment – they see themselves in it. It’s why somebody who’s a prolific musician can wear garments that influence whole subcultures of style. Sometimes it’s eras and the restriction of fashion or popularisation of certain elements. Maybe what you still wear now, or were not supposed to wear then, is what was popular at the time you listened to the music. New Brighton-born lead singer Graham Sayle of rock band High Vis, in their track titled ‘Trauma Bonds’, brings his northern and blue lyrics with hardcore pop-punk vocal influences by shout singing, “buried too many too young, its short life, tears on my Gore-Tex we’re defective and numb, when the party’s over it’s over, where do we run.” This is a reference to the importance of the music, the scene, the weather and the mood of the area, just as important as the clothing and even the fabric!
It’s true; a dark and smart pair of Gore-Tex trainers is good for a fezzy, or dingy events where the low ceiling drips sweat and where people spill drinks on your shoes in dirty warehouses. Newly popular brands like Arc’teryx, Montane and Mountain Equipment remind a lot of kids about tech-house events and festivals from recent summers. I remember choosing to wear some wipe clean scally gear to Waxxx, deep house music or 90s themed raves in Haus (it later became Constellations), early Modular parties, techno and tech house events that started in the old Magnet on Hardman Street. Keeps ya’ feet dry and easy to clean. Similarly, people feel this way about a super lightweight jacket that doesn’t get in the way when it’s time for a dance. Even if a jacket or shoes are technical bits of kit made for running trails, they go great with hours long of stomping and fist pumping with your mates.
Berghaus and Spray Way reminds older consumers of the 90s club scene, going out the way to raves. So much so, those brands fully lean into that aesthetic and capitalise on the nostalgia and vintage boom of the last, say 15 years. After the 80s when sportswear ruled, then all the way through the 90s and 2000s Wade Smith smart casual era, the dress code on club doors changed. Like Nations’ resident event CREAM, The Buzz, The Ofive One and many more, you either had to make an effort and dress smart though still wear trainers, or, we are all here to have a laugh anyway wear what you want. Dark leather Rockports, Lacoste boots, or white soft leather Reebok Classics, could look smart enough with a collared Hugo Boss shirt. These are the things scousers wore on nights they said were life-changing. Obviously, it makes sense to wear a high end 3-in-1 waterproof coat to a rave on a boggy field, or in an old hangar, but people were actually in the night clubs with them on. While some are in CREAM graphic t-shirts or have fluorescent costume jewellery, you can have your Berghaus Mera Peak on, with few glow sticks handy for when you leave the club and it’s lashin’ it down!
Written by Vintage
