A few hours at a prominent college in Delhi gave me a very interesting insight into the “with- it” generation.

I saw a very strong influence of what we call alternative dressing among the college goers. Subcultures like Punk, Goth and some more form the core of alternative dressing made me realise how the youth today is so strong willed and upfront about their expression.

In more ways than one, I feel it is a great idea to have the courage to voice opinions and make a difference.

I saw a connection between the youth and the subculture they seem to be borrowing from.

The punk movement originally started with the idea of expressing views on the political and social front. The strong and outrageous sense of dressing was their way of making a statement against the political scenario and as a tool to stand out in the crowd.

Mohawks, fiery loud hair dyes, lots of silver jewellery, studs, wild prints and loads of attitude spells alternative clothing and one of the forerunners of this genre is the punk look.

The advent of punk dressing took root with the popularity of punk music in the the 1970's. Rebellious, wild and shocking defined being a punk. During its early days punk dressing was considered confrontational as nothing like it had ever seen expression.

Punk has always been a very strong influence on the works of Vivienne Westwood. She has given this sub-culture a whole new meaning in the world of fashion.

Torn t-shirts, offensive clothing, and anarchy symbols were very popular with the punk subculture during the 70's. Additionally, controversial images, patches, and studded or plain leather jackets were staples of the punk style and remain prevalent today.

Footwear was very expressive with rivets and chunky metallic dressing. Big solid soles were a regular feature. Bondage clothing, tapered jeans, leather jackets and pants, torn tshirts and lots of tie up scarves dominated the look.

Controversial hairdos began to surface in the punk era especially with the bright highlights and avantgarde cutting styles.After the 70’s punk revolution started settling in, one noticed another revolution within the subculture. Now it started turning more mature in outlook as it is focused on functionality and not just the shock value.

Boots with steel toes became extremely popular.

Torn and old denims found a very interesting reincarnation in this era. Heavy chains and metallic embellishments found a deep seated home in the punk look during and after the war in the 80’s.

Bold slogans and names of bands became very popular.

Controversies after controversies became the essence of the punk culture with people not only speaking their minds on their t-shirts but also metaphorically in how they put the look together.

Leather was made optimum use of.

It's easy to see that this once controversial, rebellious fashion has now grown into a popular dressing style.

(The writer is a fashion designer and artist)