Written by Charlie O'Brien & Paul G Roberts
Edited by Chantelle Japardi
Narrated by Annalisa Piccio
Malcolm McLaren was a promoter, an anarchist, and the man who brought punk to the forefront of mainstream culture.
He was partners with the great Vivienne Westwood in the infamous boutique at London’s 430 Kings Road, London.
The boutique would undergo several transformations under the watchful eye of McLaren, but originally it was named Let It Rock, selling the rockabilly aesthetic of drape jackets, drainpipe trousers and brothel creeper shoes – a style popularised by the Teddy Boy subculture at the time.
By 1973 the store had been renamed - Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die – and shifted from rockabilly to the greaser fashions popularised in the 1950s.
McLaren was proving himself a shrewd promoter: each directional change drove the boutique to greater heights of success. But it wasn’t until 1974 that McLaren injected his personal mantra of dysfunction into the store and cemented his legacy as the man who brought punk to the masses.
The origins of the punk rock movement began in New York. McLaren and Westwood had been making periodic trips there since the early 1970s, exhibiting their clothes and strengthening their connection to the New York underground.
McLaren in particular had become fascinated with the anarchistic principles and radical fashion of the protopunk movement, forming relationships with trailblazing bands like the New York Dolls and Richard Hell of Television.
In the spring of 1974 he brought punk rock back to the UK, rebranding the boutique SEX and stocking the store with the bondage gear and socially provocative garments that would eventually become synonymous with punk culture.
Shortly after the inception of SEX, McLaren returned to the United States. It was there he met with New York Dolls guitarist Sylvain Sylvain and agreed to become their personal manager.
Together they conspired on a new direction for the band, one that adopted the shock tactics of Communism: outfits inspired by the Maoist Red Guard and a host of socialist propaganda littering the stage.
Like so much of what McLaren did, the new look was designed to spark outrage. Instead, it simply caused confusion. The directional change proved the final nail in the coffin for the outfit and they disbanded not long after.
Undeterred by his failure at the helm of the Dolls, McLaren returned home with the goal of starting a new band: one he could use as “mannequins” to sell the fashion of punk.
And so The Sex Pistols were born.
RENEGADES OF FASHION - NEW 11 PART NETFLIX FEATURE FILM SERIES
CREATED BY PAUL G ROBERTS
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To the casual outsider the Fashion Industry can appear to be a cauldron of creativity with endless innovation and risk taking, as every new season designers have to forget their past successes and milestones and return alone to a blank canvas, to create their next collection, and this cycle repeats itself every 6 months. Granted there are principles, codes, legends and motifs that inform a designer’s agency, but essentially it’s starting over.
Even if you hold only the most casual interest in the world of fashion, it’s hard to deny the fascinating life stories of every person we have chosen to showcase in this Series.
Starring:
REI KAWAKUBO
HEDI SLIMANE
KENZO TAKADA
ISSEY MIYAKE
JEREMY SCOTT
VIVIENNE WESTWOOD
ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
RICK OWENS
JOHN GALLIANO
MALCOLM MCLAREN
