Who Do You Think You Are? Johanna Liao Keywords: Mormon/ Immaculate Conception/ Skate Culture/ Social Media

Abstract: For her entire life Rachel has identified herself as Mormon and has been subjected to strict rules and regulations in regards to dress. When she runs away to search for the man she believes impregnated her, she finds herself basking in the neon lights of Las Vegas, Nevada. There she befriends a band of teenage boys immersed in the skater lifestyle. In this essay I will study this counter culture’s impact on Rachel’s attitude towards her own style as well as the way she perceives herself and the world around her. I also intend to examine this clash of cultures and its overarching effect on fashion today by analyzing style blogs and examining people’s personal style in the Philadelphia area.

It All Started with a Song

Electrick Children is a cinematic journey skirting on the edge of surrealism. Released in 2012 and directed by Rebecca Thomas, this movie tells the story of a Mormon girl Rachel who believes she became impregnated by listening to a song on a forbidden tape recorder. Rachel runs away to Las Vegas to find the father by stealing her family’s car, accidently taking her brother along for the ride. It is there where the two join a band of skaters who show Rachel and her brother a new way of life. It is never made clear who the father of Rachel’s baby is, but she falls in love with one of the skaters, while simultaneously falling in love with their wild and free sense of style.

This movie encourages the experimentation of combining different styles as a form of self-expression. During the movie Rachel goes through a subtle transformation that is portrayed through her personal style. The way she dresses reflects her true character trying to find her place in the world, while finding equilibrium between her past and present life. Like most adolescents Rachel is struggling to transition into adulthood. This movie documents her coming of age that is demonstrated by her experimental looks. Many teenagers find Rachel’s experience relatable because they too are transitioning into becoming independent individuals with a sense of style to match. Electrick Children truly pushes the boundaries of how clothes define character by the eclectic style created for Rachel. This kind of mismatched style can be seen on youth roaming the streets today. It has become common to ditch designer labels and go thrift shopping to find something truly unique and different. Unlike commercial clothing stores, thrift shops do not have to follow the popular trends set forth by the fashion industry. Therefore, customers are subjected to a wider variety of styles and one-of-a-kind items. After the release of this film there has been a shift of focus among youth in regards to experimenting with personal style. A need for defining oneself through dress has led to a greater acceptance of fashion subcultures into the mainstream.

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Word on the Street

The only way to conduct this investigation was to turn to the street. What is most interesting is that street fashion has always played an influential role in the fashion industry. Many trends that originated from the street end up on fashion runways. Guy Treebay, prominent fashion critic and author for the New York Times recalls certain 2000 trends such as “...buttocks-baring trousers, and preppy plaids worn ironically, and do-rags and belt buckles with one's name spelled out in block letters. None of these notions originated on any designer's sketch pad and yet each turned up on the fall runways”. Street style has an appeal to top tier fashion designers because of its innovative freshness. In the movie, no characters wore designer labels yet they still looked fashionable. The beauty of street style is something that can be obtained by disregarding economic status or social class. This style is accessible to everyone and is not limited to just the upper crust of society like designer labels are. The Sartorialist is a highly coveted fashion blog that documents street style around the world. First published in 2005, the blog demonstrates that fashion has no age, gender, race, or price tag. The rise in popularity of this fashion blog has also led to the occurrence of unconventional dressing, since such a variety of looks have been captured and showcased on the web (see Figure 1). These independently created blogs have stripped the power away from corporate fashion executives and have allowed the public to redefine what style is (Stuart). Instagram, a popular social media outlet and image sharing platform was made public in 2010, just two years before Electrik Children was released. Instagram has allowed users to share their style habits with the rest of the world. Popstar and CFDA award winner Rihanna found her latest makeup artist on the “Explore” page of Instagram. This virtual sharing platform has caught the attention of the fashion industry, which turns to these accounts for inspiration and insight for the next big trend, and in Rihanna’s case, a killer music video.

Figure 1. The Sartorialist fashion blog and its variety of looks. Courtesy of the www.thesartorialist.com.

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A Tale of Two Styles

This study is unique because instead of focusing on one specific article of clothing, it examines an entire mentality and culture. The skate culture that is featured in the movie is a subculture that holds heavy emphasis on disregarding authority and rebelling against social norms. It is typical to present a subculture in a negative light “…the media interprets and presents subcultures as alienated, subordinate, and/or alternative, suggesting that subculture members reject mainstream mores, conventions, and dress” (Winge). Rachel’s Mormon religion is also considered a subculture. “Mormon’s wear is fashionable and ordinary, chosen by the members themselves to suit their style within the guidelines” (Sterbenz). Rachel’s dress is very modest, while most teens are focused on revealing skin she is focused on covering up. This study is important to youth fashion and style because it shows how two subcultures can coexist in fashion and that there has been a shift in mentality about showcasing personal image. There is a focus on personal style rather than conforming to what is considered mainstream.

Even though Electrick Children was produced as an indie film, it still had a resounding impact among audiences across America. This film has impacted mass fashion and style by enforcing an acceptance of expressing individuality towards dress. Ted Polhemus is an American anthropologist who has published many books about street style. He believes that “street style obliged the individual to wear his or her values and beliefs on the sleeve”. When Rachel travels to Las Vegas she looks extremely out of place due to her homemade dress and backpack (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. Rachel looking out of place in Las Vegas Electrick Children. Live Wire Films, 2012. Capture Courtesy of Johanna Liao. But she continues to be dedicated to her look because it represents her religious values and beliefs. The skaters are fascinated by her foreign looks, yet they still accept her into their tribe. There has been an occurring evolution of street style. Before, members of the same subculture dressed more alike one another. Whereas now, they have more freedom to express individuality, but are still accepted into the same subculture. By becoming less regimented, “Street style has moved into a key position within the clothing industry in a postmodern age characterized by a

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crisis of identity, truth, and meaning” (Polhemus). It can be seen that the skaters in this movie are not styled as a group. Instead they have individual style reflecting their unique personalities and traveling together as a unit demonstrates the acceptance they have for each other (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. All of the skaters have different dress yet are part of the same subculture. Electrick Children. Live Wire Films, 2012. Capture Courtesy of Johanna Liao.

Rachel’s style is a unique case because it is a blend of both Mormon and skate subcultures. For her, “fashion (is) functioning as a form of collective behavior, both in terms of marking group membership and conversely establishing individuality” (Lynch). This can be seen when her character is given heart-shaped sunglasses to wear (see Figure 4). She puts them on to become a part of a subculture while also enhancing her personal style and flair.

Figure 4. Rachel wears heart shaped sunglasses Electrick Children Live Wire Films 2012 Capture Courtesy of Johanna Liao

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Another example is when she wears a hoodie over her dress (see Figure 5). Again, this is something that was given to her, yet it sends a message about her attitude towards her own appearance. She values where and who it came from so she assimilates it to be a part of her identity. Electrick Children clearly defines a movement in style dealing with celebration of the individual.

Figure 5. Rachel wears hoodie over her Mormon dress. Electrick Children. Live Wire Films, 2012. Capture Courtesy of Johanna Liao.

The Real World

On the street there is no predominant residing style. One rainy day in the financial district a young woman walked by me in heels, a dress, and a windbreaker (see Figure 6). What stood out to me the most was the contrast of the windbreaker against the elegance of her outfit. She obviously chose the windbreaker’s functionality over its attractiveness, but it still contrasted harshly with the rest of her ensemble. This disregard for the expected has become socially acceptable because of the greater acceptance of an attitude where attention for being different is favored.

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Figure 6. Chic woman in windbreaker seen in Philadelphia’s financial district. Copyright Johanna Liao. The youth mentality today is one that is very focused on the individual. “Millennial” is the term used to describe the current generation. They are characterized as being self-absorbed and only interested in things pertaining to them. It’s no wonder that this mentality has caused such an increased attention about individual dress and style. Millennials are too busy documenting every aspect of their life, including style on social media, to care about what other people think of them. In Old City towards South Street, I noticed a similar style of dress occurring among youth. There was a pack of teenagers with snapbacks and backpacks, yet they paired these items with nice pants (see Figure 7). Pairing items from two very different subcultures created a look that expressed their individuality. They contrasted edgy with a clean tailored pant.

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Figure 7. Gang of youth on South Street. Copyright Johanna Liao. My personal sense of style also tells a similar story. During my time studying abroad I had the chance to attend Paris Fashion Week. I put together an outfit that I thought showcased my personal style at its best (see Figure 8). I wore an oversized sweater I bought from Urban Outfitters, a hat from American Apparel, Clark shoes, a scarf from Topshop, and a dress from Jack Wills. These stores have vastly different costumers they design for, ranging from hipster to prep. However, I still felt compelled to mesh all of the articles of clothing together since I wanted to be trendy and stand out amongst the crowd. And yes, I did get my picture taken because street style is something the fashion industry currently extols.

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Figure 8. Paris fashion week outfit Spring 2015. Copyright Johanna Liao

Lessons Learned

The fashion in Electrick Children shows that character defines style and vice versa. This is shown through examination of the history of subcultures and more recently demonstrated by the rise in popularity of the fashion blog. The research conducted on the street also adds support to the idea of individual dress as a popular way of self-expression. The next step would be to visit other cities and examine street style to see if there are any differences in the styles and if different attitudes are conveyed in different places. Rachel’s fashion demonstrates a respect for cultural heritage as well as a tool for acceptance into the skate subculture. Fashion has the capability to transform and completely change a person, but it’s the individual who can make that change. In the end it was never really about the clothes but the power of personal freedom and self-expression.

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Works Cited Electrick Children. Dir. Rebecca Thomas. Live Wire Films, 2012. Film. Gharnit, Yasmeen. "Rihanna Found Her 'bbhmm' Co-star on Instagram." NYLON. Nylon Media.

Web. 28 Aug. 2015. Hughes, Holly Stuart. "TREND: Street Fashion Bloggers Cash in." Photo District News 31.6

(2011): 42-3. ProQuest. Web. 8 Aug. 2015. Liao, Johanna. Chic Woman in Windbreaker. 2015. Photograph. Liao, Johanna. Gang of Youth. 2015. Photograph. Liao, Johanna. Paris Fashion Week Outfit. 2015. Photograph. Lynch, Annette, Strauss, Mitchell D. "Fashion as Collective Behavior." The Berg Fashion

Library. The Berg Fashion Library, 2007. Web. 8 Aug. 2015. Polhemus, Ted. "About Ted Polhemus." TED POLHEMUS the web site. Web. 9 Aug. 2015. Polhemus, Ted. "Street Style." The Berg Fashion Library. The Berg Fashion Library, 2005.

Web. 8 Aug. 2015. Schuman, Scott. "Weblog post." The Sartorialist. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Aug. 2015. Sterbenz, Christina. "Here's How Mormons Are Supposed to Dress." Business Insider. N.p., 3

Mar. 2014. Web. 7 Aug. 2015. Trebay, Guy. "The Age of Street Fashion." New York Times 27 10 2002. The New York Times.

Web. 7 Aug. 2015.

Winge, Therèsa. " Subcultural Body Style." The Berg Fashion Library. The Berg Fashion Library, 2012. Web. 7 Aug. 2015.