That´s how I found out about SEX. We used to sequin, bead, stitch, dye, print and alter Osfam Clothes. Then we´d parade down the King´s Road, looking in at ACME and daring each other to go into SEX. The clothes where so expensive and Jordan was intimidating though Sid was sweet when he worked there, really goofy.
When it changed to Seditionaries I saved 30 pounds and got 30 more of my dad for a pair of red tartan bondage trousers. My Mum said she could have brought a new suite for that money.
Dad said he would give me the money as a cheque but refused to put ´SEX´ on the stub: ´ What would my accountant think ?? ´When I got them home I persuaded my Mum to make four more pairs. One day Vivienne saw me wearing some made out of a Union Jack and got really suspicious. I was really embarassed when I told her my Mum had made them!
Once I went into the shop in 1977 in a leather jacket I had studded with ´ Elvis´ across the back. She started having a go for being so backward-looking when all I was trying to do was point out how great he was. Only a few years before she had launched her career on rock´n´roll iconography !
I had loads of their gear : The Piss Marilyn T- Shirt, the black sued boots, with that white strap, but soon I started wearing stuff halfway between Seditionaries and my Culture Club look. One night I went to a gig in bondage trousers, a frilly blouse and a full face of make-up. That was enough to provoke somebody to pour a pint of blackcurrant and larger over my head. You started to get a lot of animosity because punk had suddenly become straight, pedetrian. That felt odd because punk was always supposed to be about outsiders, and then you felt like an outsider from punk.
I use punk slogans and imagery in my label B-Rude, it has the DYI ethic but the safety pins are sequinned and look glamogrous. We draw on the bondage clothes but merge them with sportswear, hoodies, etc ..
I think Vivienne is still the Queen of Fashion but this days you can´t just look unusual . Mtv and stylists are on the rampage and you can fool people more. Put enough eyeliner and a boil-in-the-bag pop starlet, add a CBGB T-shirt and there it is: fake cool. That´s not what punk was about at all.