By Brooklyn Fears
Grunge was an era that began in Seattle, Washington in the 1990s. The genre was boiling underneath the surface of the alternative rock charts with songs that yearned for love and acceptance, yet dreaded drug addiction, and battles with depression. The movement was political, anti-establishment, and nihilist. The Riot Grrrl submovement lugged feminism into the scene and placed it on a pedestal dressed in tight, short skirts, and combat boots. Grunge was progressive and urged to change the status quo.
The style of grunge fashion reflected the opinions, ideologies, socioeconomic classes, and values of Gen Xers. Grunge style was often thrifted, as many musicians and concert-goers were anti-capitalist and anti-consumption, gawking at new, or designer clothing. Grunge fashion strayed away from mainstream trends, as the crux of the grunge movement was authenticity and originality. T-shirts worn with tears and holes gained from a mosh pit were worn proudly underneath muted color sweaters. Doc Martens and Converse were covered with mud from an outside gig the night before. Partisan statements were etched onto T-shirts or skin with markers that signaled allyship, protest, or calls to action. Grunge was a scene, an era, a movement spearheaded by legends that procured the same values and fashion aesthetics.
It is 1992 in Seattle, Washington, and Nirvana are on MTV as a young Gen Xer grabs their distressed pair of Doc Marten 1460s and thrashed plaid flannel and heads out the door to see Pearl Jam play “Drop in the Park” in a cool late September. The young rocker squirms in between the throbbing sweaty locals and pushes their way to the voter registration table. This was, after all, a free concert that Pearl Jam put on to inspire young fans to vote (Wilson, 2018).
Pearl Jam’s frontman Eddie Vedder, sporting a black helmet, spoke to KIRO 7 detailing his aspirations for the concert, "It’s really easy to become apathetic and feel like you can’t make a difference, this is just proof that you can. And (voters) can do the same thing in November” ( Wilson, 2018).
Tensions were high in the country at the time as the post-Reagan Era had Generation X on their toes, feeling hopeless and distressed. Turning to the grunge rock scene, made the youth of the early 1990s feel empowered. Teens and young adults wanted to say what they want, listen to what they wanted, and wear what they wanted. In truth, the politics, themes of nihilism, anarchy, fashion, and art, all encompassed the Seattle grunge scene that inevitably took over the mainstream rock landscape.
Pearl Jam as a band consistently turned away from flashy “rockstar” styles and chose to wear what was comfortable to perform onstage ( Kramer, 2021). This was in part, a protest against hyper-consumer culture.
Fashion and aesthetics are not only ways to express oneself, but to bring a sense of belonging within a community. Dirty, torn sneakers with scribbled handwriting traveling along the sides of the midsoles of the shoe were the essentials of any grunge look. There was a slightly negative connotation that came along with sporting shoes such as these. The youth were often seen as “lower social class'' or “uncultured” (Kulinicheva, 2022). To the young adults of the ’90s, it represented the anti-capitalist and anti-mainstream sentiment, and most importantly, shouted authenticity and self-expression, no matter the elitists who were vehemently against it (Kulinicheva, 2022).
Of course, there is so much more than filthy sneakers to the grunge fashion movement. Ripped jeans with more chicken scratch written above the tear in the knee, beanies above stringy, bleached blond hair, stripped and plaid materials, and stretched-out cardigans. A man who forefronted this fashion momentum was none other than Kurt Cobain. The sloppy, muted toned, yet put-together look matched the somber lyrics about pain, angst, and resistance that coincided with quick drums and post-punk guitar riffs. (Stafford, 2018)
Notably, the grunge era was simultaneously happening alongside the feminist rock movement known as Riot Grrrl. T-shirts with political sentiments were worn on stages in protest, accompanied by hair clips and short, emo bangs (Pronovost, 2015). It was grunge, but with escalated brushes of femininity. Bikini Kill was a band that headed this movement, by being overtly sexual, and not apologizing for it. The band members scribbled “slut” and “whore” all over their bodies to reclaim the volatile phrases that were shouted at them by men. “Grrrl” in particular was derived from “girl” which was a word that belittled grown women. This revolution utilized fashion and accessories to scream their messages of anti-rape culture, anti-abuse, and the overall inequity of women in the punk and grunge scenes (Pronovost, 2015)
Sexual expression was not lost on their male counterparts. Kurt Cobain challenged general roles in his own right, occasionally wearing dresses and makeup on stage, which then sparked rumors about his sexuality (Stafford, 2018). This act of shocking and infuriating herteronormative baby boomers, expressing his sexuality, and his beliefs in freedom of expression, is the center of grunge ideology.
Writing on oneself is a theme mentioned before and seen many more times as a fashion staple itself in the grunge scene. Eddie Vedder rocked in solidarity with women by writing “pro-choice” on his arm in black ink during their “MTV Unplugged” session in 1992 (Stafford 2018). T-shirts with cultural sentiments were also worn by Cobain, ironically gracing the cover of Rolling Stone magazine with the words “Corporate Magazines still suck” with his bandmates behind him. (Kulinicheva, 2022)
The media had eventually grasped onto the grunge trend. The New York Times especially, constructed articles surrounding the fashion phenomenon. The publication deemed Cobain’s favorite green sweater the “grandfather cardigan” (Kulinicheva, 2022) It does beg the question if publications stood in solidarity with the movement, or if was simply a way to hop on the bandwagon to engage more readers.
The grunge coalition sank its teeth into politics, and it was not letting go. But the genre rendered other taboo topics such as mental health and sexual assault. Grunge was no stranger to issues centered around melancholy and addiction. The grunge community collectively mourned when the news broke of Cobain’s suicide in 1994. The figurehead of grunge lost his battle with depression. After his death, Cobain remains a style and musical icon in the grunge scene.
Jonathan Poneman, of the independent label Sub Pop, who released Nirvana’s first record was impressed by Cobain’s style, “This stuff is cheap, it’s durable, and it’s kind of timeless. It also runs against the grain of the whole flashy aesthetic that existed in the ‘80s.” The industry joked and called the look “Seattle Chic” (Kulinicheva, 2022). Thrifted clothing was on the rise in popularity in the 1990s.
MTV and indie labels clung to this trend as it directly disrupted the mainstream school of fashion. Clean, pressed clothing and scuff-free sneakers were spat at by the underground scene. Fashion critics were split on the wave of the new ’90s look. Editor of Details Magazine, James Truman, called grunge “un-fashion”, and noted that it was a direct opposition to the flashy glamor of the ’80s closet (Stafford, 2018). Many other publications, injected their classist bias into the conversation, calling the looks impoverished.
Grunge had a long slow burn thereafter the 1990s as more musicians from the Seattle scene spoke of their struggles with substance addiction and suicidal ideations. Indie and alternative rock came to fruition at the tail end of the century. 1990s grunge felt ripples of nostalgia and pain as the decades went on as musicians in or adjacent to the scene lost their battles to addiction or depression.
It felt as if grunge was gone forever, and that the movement had died with legends that birthed it. However, that simply was not the case. In 2013, there was a rumble among Millennials and Gen Zers. A surge of grunge was rebirthed, with a new name and a modernized look, accompanied by indie and alternative pop. Ah yes, the era of “soft grunge.”
It would not be a conversation of soft grunge if the social media blog platform Tumblr were excluded from the equation. Young women discovered Nirvana for the first time but heavily leaned on indie acts such as The 1975 or Arctic Monkeys, who released critically acclaimed records that same year. The fashion was reminiscent of the ’90s with plaid flannels, Doc Martens, loads of denim, leather, and holey band-tees.
Bloggers also shared their battles with self-harm, poor mental health, and addictions in a very 21st-century way. Photos depicting very skinny, pale women with self-harm scars were sought-after silhouettes. Drugs and sex have always been pillars of the rock genre, but this was romanticized in a dangerous way. Grunge was associated with sadness and eating disorders. It was less about anti-establishment and anti-consumerism, and more about blogging about one’s self-obsession and self-loathing. Colored hair, piercings, and tattoos were vital aspects of the new soft grunge look. A septum to complement the band-tee and aqua hair to accentuate the blue flannel. A flat stomach to pair with a new Marlboro addition. A scrawny, eurocentric framework was becoming a trend itself. Some of these accessories have reverberations of grunge, but others were menacing and exhibitionist.
Around 2016, was when the soft grunge era went quiet, though many teens still identified with the music and fashion heavily. Dirty Vans and Converse were still worn proudly and became a trend itself. However, in incredibly horrific taste, designer retail cooperations Gucci and Saint Laurent created shoes that looked filthy and worn (Satenstein, 2017). Vogue shared a study conducted by a phycology professor who studied this phenomenon, “Our research found that having neat and tidy shoes tends to correlate with the person being anxious, conscientious, or politically conservative. So the choice to use dirty shoes on the runway might be an effort to portray an image of being calm, not uptight, or politically liberal.” (Satenstein, 2017)
The concept of a designer brand selling pre-stain shoes for $1,000 was seemingly tone-deaf to consumers. Romanticizing poverty and gentrifying mucky shoes is making a mockery of those who cannot afford to keep their shoes tidy or purchase more pairs. Gucci was robbing the grunge look while ignoring its sentiment of anti-consumerism and anti-corporations. Scuffing up and soiling one’s sneakers gave the shoe character in the center of the wearer’s plotline. It was authentic and personal, unlike purchasing designer shoes airbrushed to look messy. Billion-dollar corporations that capitalize off of the lower class are the exact opposite of what the grunge fashion movement stands for.
With Tumblr’s decline came TikTok’s rise to global succession. TikTok drives trends and sales in today’s market, much like Tumblr did nearly a decade ago. Grunge resurfaced on the global platform in 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdown, where most Gen Zers were stuck inside their rooms and glued to their phones. Blog posts ripped from Tumblr in 2014 were replastered onto TikTok with 20-somethings reminiscing on simpler times painted with hair dye and stained with lipstick. College-aged users were nostalgic for the early 2010s indie pop scene that soundtracked the “soft grunge” era (Jennings, 2020). The indie teens of 2014 were reeling from a time when adulthood seemed lightyears away, where their only worry was if their Tumblr feed was aesthetically pleasing.
Society has historically leaned into aesthetics as a way to express oneself and find unity with others who care for their same interests. Thrifting became a popular trend during the soft grunge era of the 2010s due to the desire to have unique fashion that was not mainstream, much like the ’90s grunge era. Additionally, the second-hand fashion movement rose to prominence when it was made public about the horrific toll that textiles have on the environment. 13 million tons of new fabrics enter landfills every year (Portela, 2021). The grunge movement has always been anti-consumer and anti-capitalist and has pushed the notion of second-hand consumption as the main way to purchase. Kicking away corporations and caring about the climate crisis has always been a value of grunge fashion and ideology. Fashion, music, and politics have been intertwined across cultures and revolutions throughout history. The Zoot Suit Riots of the 1940s took place outside of Los Angeles jazz clubs that represented the fight for Latino rights. Bell-bottom jeans in the 1970s were worn by Deadhead hippies protesting the Vietnam war.
Since its birth in the 1990s, grunge has already made a short list of resurrections. It has enthralled three generations accompanied by their own slight tweaks in music, values, and fashion. It is ever-evolving as there are still people today who align with the grunge aesthetic and movement. Grunge has been lurking for over 30 years and has never disappeared completely. As long as there is oppression, conflict, and alternative rock, grunge fashion will prevail to foster unity, comfort, and individuality.
References
Jennings, R. (2020, May 7). Stuck in 2020, Pretending it’s 2014). Vox.
Kramer, S. (2021). “They Can Buy, But Can’t Put On My Clothes”: Pearl Jam, Grunge, and Subcultural Authenticity in a Postmodern Fashion Climate.” In S. Marino & A. Schembari. (Eds.), Pearl Jam and Philosophy. Bloomsbury.
Kulinicheva, E. (2022). The semiotic heritage of grunge and the distressed sneakers trend. European Journal of Cultural Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/13675494221112444.
Portela, V. (2021, March 09). The Fashion Industry Waste Is Drastically Contributing To Climate Change. CALPIRG.
Pronovost, M. (2015). Sluts, Sweethearts, and Hypocrobrats: The Confrontational Fashion of the Riot Grrrl Revolution. Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. https://www.proquest.com/openview/ee6a1b37115460826deebb65e4b759be/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750
Stafford, P. E. (2018). The Grunge Effect: Music, Fashion, and the Media During the Rise of Grunge Culture In the Early 1990s. M/C Journal, 21(5).https://doi.org/10.5204/mcj.1471.
Statensein, L. (2017, May 31). Title of article. Are Dirty Shoes Really a Fashion Faux Pas? Gucci Begs to Differ. Vogue.
Wilson, M. (2018, August 08). Rare interviews: Pearl Jam gives free 1992 concert in Seattle to inspire voting. Kiro 7.
Comments