Let Off Some Steampunk

Nothing thrills Diva as much as spotting a new trend [well no, Diva wasn’t the first to take note]. There it was, in The New York Times, last week, as big as life: "Steampunk Moves Between Two Worlds”--two pages, with dramatic color photos.

Now, you may have seen steampunk [but didn’t know what to call it], or maybe it’s so subcultural [cult, at this point] that you have never even seen or heard of it before.

How do you describe this trend/look/lifestyle/attitude? Diva will try. It is Jules Verne meets Mad Max meets Star Wars meets neo-Victorian meets hip Edwardian meets H.G. Wells meets Flash Gordon meets vaudeville meets mad scientist meets Nikola Tesla meets Harry Houdini meets Luddite meets Alexander McQueen meets 2020. It’s what Goth is giving way to. It’s the next big fashion [top fashion designers are already turned on by it] and cultural trend. It’s a bit formal and forboding--yet somehow warm and stylish--a fusion of human and machine, of fact and fiction.

It is based in intellectual pursuits [books, films, entertainment]: the speculative fiction of William Gibson’s "The Difference Engine," and his cyberpunk novels from the '80s, as well as the works of James P. Blaylock and Paul Di Filippo’s “The Steampunk Trilogy”--with heavy historical and sci-fi leanings [time travel].

In terms of style, it combines futuristic and computer wizardry with low-tech touches--such as a computer screen disguised in an antique [or handmade frame] attached to a Royal typewriter keyboard [didn’t know there were any of those still around] instead of a keypad. In terms of fashion, think of the period, set-piece movie “The Prestige.” Handmade items from Etsy’s [an online seller of handcrafted items] are in high demand by steampunkers, in fact most everything about steampunk looks handmade and one-of-a-kind--individualistic, rather than mass market.

Diva says: this is a trend to watch if you area hip retailer or a fashionista.

--Diva

Photo 1: A photo from Gypsy Moon's summer collection of Steampunk-inspired fashions.

Photo 2: The cover of "The Difference Engine."