Anti-fashion

Anti-fashion styles may represent an attitude of indifference or may arise from political or practical goals which make fashion a secondary priority.

[1] An example, this time from the early 20th century, was promoted by the legendary designer Gabrielle Chanel – a "poor girl" woman's style where rich ladies could look like regular women while still dressing in clothes that showed their quality under close inspection.

[3] The dress sense of Charles III of the United Kingdom has been described as anti-fashion, in that it reflects indifference to current fashion in favor of traditional style.

The burden of wearing extremely heavy dresses in all seasons that could not be washed was a health hazard, especially for frail women who might be overly susceptible to disease.

Long dresses dragged on unpaved streets and floors carrying filth and germs indoors that affected household members, especially small children.

Alternative forms of daywear were promoted by women's clubs of the time, especially The Dress Reform Association which began in Seneca Falls, NY.

This newsworthy pants-like costume created a huge fashion stir, both positive and negative, nationwide, and only the most daring feminists adopted it.

It was easy to recognize those who followed the punk community with their spiky brightly-colored Mohawk haircuts, exotic makeup, tattoos, and body piercings.

[8] By the 1980s, punk influences could be seen around Europe and America, although these blatant and provocative styles fell out of favor by the end of the decade, to be replaced by the anti-styles of the grunge movement.

In the 1990s, a minimalist style described as anti-fashion emerged on both sides of the Atlantic in which young people would typically wear simple clothes such as black jeans and white T-shirts without a visible brand name.

At this time, grunge was considered street style, a departure from the emphasis on designer labels and ostentatious looks in the 1980s, seen for example in the exaggerated shoulder lines of the tops worn by both sexes.

Then in the following year, her clothing had a simple nickname: the beggar's outfit; leading to a design trend of loose, deliberate three-dimensional, broken, asymmetric, and not revealing the shape of the body.

Maison Martin Margiela debuted his Salvation Armycollection in 1992; it was a sarcastic reaction towards the overflowing meaningless clothes in the fashion industry.