The grunge aesthetic
FOR a large part of the 1980s, hair metal or glam metal ruled the music zeitgeist. Though its origins are debatable due to influences coming from various roots, it quickly became a largely American export.
Bands that partook in this circus saw pop choral hooks dominating their music writing, while sex, drugs and adultery littered the lyricism.
Weighing it all down was how the bands and musicians were all covered in mascara, foundation, hair spray, fishnets, skin-hugging leather, hypersexualised clothing and big ozone-unfriendly hairstyles.
To know just how flagrantly stupid hair metal was, look up the music video and lyrics to Warrant’s Cherry Pie, or Poison’s disturbing I Want Action with its overt rape lyricism.
By the end of the decade, like most trends, hair metal was lying in the pop culture ditch, slowly bleeding out and Nirvana’s Nevermind arrived to put a bullet in its head.
Antithetical to the absurdity of music at the time and preceding it, Nevermind and grunge were a rejection of the pomp and silliness of the former, bringing attention back to its subset of punk culture.
Kurt Cobain’s writing behind the album shook the status quo with its anti-establishment themes. Beyond just the musical influence the album had, how it marked a shift in fashion has seemingly lasted longer.
Due to Nevermind shooting grunge into the stratosphere with disenfranchised youths and communities, the clothing worn by Nirvana popularised the thrift store-style aesthetic. Plaid shirts and worn-out jeans became de rigueur.
When Nirvana released Nevermind, grunge fashion essentially boiled down to poverty. Musicians and those who showed up at gigs were dressed in what they wore earlier in the day during their day jobs or regular daily life. Other styles of plaid, such as flannels, were often worn a size or so larger as a means to appear androgynous.
The look, the feel and overall grunge vibe has survived until this day, much of it due to the huge influence of three young men from Seattle who released a seminal album that forever changed music and fashion.