Re-purposed fashion has gained considerable popularity in our environmentally-conscious era. Especially with the rise of hipsters and eco-friendly clothes.
If I'm honest, however, I sometimes find that re-purposed things just look like plain junk. (Consider the amount of raggedy cotton t-shirts or patchwork pants for sale online, for example.)
Quite often, clothes are recycled just for the sake of being recycled.
However, when entire concepts, like whole eras, are re-considered with a true purpose in mind, great things emerge.
Like Steampunk fashion.
Steampunk is described as "the adaptation of advanced technology into a steam age context, producing a society that looks like the Victorian world but which enjoys an even greater level of complexity."
Some of its fashion intersects with the Gothic Lolita, Cybergoth, and industrial music set. Which means you'll see lots of corsets and scarves if you browse the Google search engine under the term.
The aspect I'm most interested in is Steampunk's emphasis on transparency and re-imagining of the past with a new lens.
Basically, its explosive anachronism.
Or the examining, unraveling, and reconstructing of the Victorian Age.
(Picture lots of self-made contraptions--brass trinkets, pantaloons, and watches)
Unfortunately, Steampunk (if such a broad, unwieldy term can be grouped into a single category) has the tendency to be costumey. I'd like to see some of its more prominent trends updated a bit and combined with some of the trends of our modern age.
A hair comb by Ghost Love
Corset dress by Battyazac
With its decidedly Western stamp, Steampunk has the potential to expand its influence (much like...erm...imperialism) to other concurrent fashion trends. I'm very interested in seeing how steampunk plays out.
