1: Origins

Steampunk is a relatively new subculture in fashion, dating back to the early 1950s. However, the inspiration for the subculture is much more rich in history, combining 18th and 19th century goth and Victorian aesthetics. The name steampunk was first uttered in 1987 by KW Jeter in his novel Morlock Night, which was set as a differentiation from the already existent cyberpunk style. While both steampunk and cyberpunk have to do with technology, steampunk tends to reference retrofuturism, while cyberpunk leans more towards futurism and surrealism. The popularity of steampunk emerged in London and New York, and is most times tied to science fiction or even cosplay. In Clockwork Rhetoric, author Barry Brummett emphasizes the important question of race in relation to steampunk. “Because steampunk arose from a context of European imperial domination of Asian, African, and other non-white peoples, do steampunk images and themes have racial implications?” As Brummett goes on to explain in Clockwork Rhetoric, steampunk has significant ties to ideas of building empires through industrial work. The concept of building an empire assumes that colonization has taken place. It is important to note that today, steampunk is primarily worn by a white American or British audience. The term steampunk is generally romanticized in a sense that its roots in racism and violence go unaddressed by the wearer. As Brummett puts it: “These creative reimaginings call us to rethink the past in a way that does nothing to recover a genuine experience of people of color… Much of steampunk art and literature stalls out at the opportunity to effect positive social change in encounters with race.” 

2: Practices

A typical steampunk look from head to toe includes a top, pants, thigh-highs, jacket, gun belts 

and harness. Bespoke tophat with working clocks are also considered a steampunk staple. The general look is similar to aviator styles, hazmat or post apocalyptic gear, and industrial uniform. While the look does not tend to vary much between location or age, feminine identifying steampunk styles most often include a corset, which is a reference to 18th century Victorian fashion. A few important materials used in the steampunk fashion are metal buckles, gilded clocks, cogs, gears, goggles, lace, and leather. Couture brands such as Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Dior, Prada, and Chanel have featured steampunk inspired pieces on the runway. As author Jennifer Laing touches on in Fashion, Design, and Events, “Accessories are often the key to an outfit. Women’s corsets are studded with brass and chains, and teamed with little top hats placed on an angle in a Mad Hatter style, veils, laced-up boots and bustled skirts with petticoats. Their hair is piled up on their head in a crazy version of the Victorian Gibson Girl look. Men wear waistcoats, bowler or top hats, and aviator goggles. They often sport a fob watch on a chain and mutton chop whiskers. Generally dark colours, particularly brown, are preferred by steampunk enthusiasts…This style has now crossed over from its sub-culture roots to the high street, with stores like Asos and Topshop offering items of steampunk influenced clothing, and IBM in one of its social surveys noting that steampunk will be the next big trend in retail (Murphy 2013; Skarda 2013).”

3: Political/Economic Stance

As put by Claire Nally in her novel Steampunk Gender, Subculture and the Neo-Victorian, “steampunk spans art, literature, and cinema.” The ideas are generally fantastical and imaginary, specifically in the realm of science fiction. There is not much of an anti-authoritative or particularly political approach. However, as explained by Burmett in Clockwork Rhetoric, the ignorance of steampunk is shown in its erasure of colonized roots and instead replaced by magic and fiction. Steampunk fashion is also generally masculine, having to do with physical labor and historic invention. While the feminine adaptations of the style can be seen as liberating in some ways, they are almost always viewed through the lens of a male perspective- this is to say, they are highly sexualized, particularly in graphic novels and pornography featuring steampunk. This fetishization is shown through the difference in design of male and female steampunk attire. Males are generally covered from head to toe in multiple layers of suit coats and vests. The addition of tophats and canes assert authority and power. On the contrary, female steampunk styles tend to constrict the body in the waist, but exposed with cleavage and bare legs. The relationship between men and women in steampunk culture tends to be emphasized in sex or “power couples” that dream of running an empire hand in hand. Hosted across the globe, steampunk conventions bring forward the wildest of the sub-culture participants. In many cases, couples come together, dressed in head to toe in retrofuturistic style. It would be fair to say that feminism, along with racism, is overlooked in steampunk style. 

4: Cultural Activities

Steampunk culture happens to be very popular on the internet, alongside cosplaying and science fiction groupies on websites such as Reddit and Tumblr. This makes sense, as the style is closely tied to technology. In July of 2005, the world’s first known steampunk club night was hosted in Los Angeles at the Monte Cristo. The popularity and success of this event launched into “SalonCon” in 2006, which was a large convention hosted in many American cities and was eventually adapted in the UK. The convention ran for 12 years, and featured authors, musicians, and designers that were seen as pillars of the steampunk movement. Since then, other conventions have taken over and become common in many cities. There is also a visible link between steampunk fashion and digital photography. Many steampunk connoisseurs own blogs, Instagram pages, or Facebook groups dedicated to the style. Here, users will post high quality photographs of themselves in traditional steampunk garb. To add even more appeal, the wearer may take the photos with a post-apocalyptic backdrop; such as an abandoned factory, railroad tracks, or city scaffolding. The way these photos are taken, in accordance with the style itself, represents the general attitude of appreciation and desire for a retro futuristic approach to technology and invention. The entire mindset revolves around machinery and industrialization. While the style may lack in awareness of its origin, it has no shortage of passionate followers that have fully dedicated their personal style, social media profiles, and even their homes to steampunk.