Casuals

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Casuals are an element of football support that first evolved in the late 1970s and early 1980s in Britain and is typified by the wearing of expensive European designer clothing.

Contents

[edit] Origins

The cult of the Casual began to grow as English football fans returned from trips to continental Europe following clubs such as Nottingham Forest, West Ham and in particular Liverpool and Everton. Fans began arriving in England wearing expensive Italian and French designer clothes, sometimes looted from stores during outbreaks of violence that were commonplace when English fans travelled abroad. Initially many hooligans and members of football firms started to wear designer labels and expensive sportswear so as not to attract the attention of police and no club colours were worn so it was easier to infiltrate rival groups as well as gain access to pubs etc. At the time many police forces were still on the look out for skinhead fans wearing Doc Martens boots and didn't pay attention to fans in expensive designer clothing.

[edit] 1980s

Important clothing labels during the 1980s include Fila, Stone Island, Fiorucci, Pepe, Benetton, Sergio Tacchini, Lacoste, Kappa, Pringle and Slazenger. Gradually this changed to become a fully fledged cult with fashions changing weekly and that was beginning to make a huge impact on mainstream youth culture. The Casual cult reached its peak in the late 1980s and with the arrival of the Acid House, Rave and Madchester scenes many commented that the violence in the cult died out.

[edit] 1990s

During the mid-1990s casual culture witnessed a massive revival but emphasis on style had changed slightly. Many fans adopted the casual look as a kind of uniform, identifying them as different from the ordinary supporters at their club. Brands such as Stone Island, Aquascutum and the infamous Burberry were seen at nearly every club as well as classic favourites such as Lacoste and Paul & Shark.

In the late 1990s many casuals began to move away from what was seen as the new 'casual uniform' and began to again wear clothing that differentiated them from regular supporters and from those wearing the aforementioned brands as the police, as with the skinhead fashions of the 1970s, began to mark out fans simply by the clothes they were wearing.

[edit] 2000 - present

Whilst Stone Island was still being worn, many were detaching the compass badge so as to be less obvious. Though with the two buttons still attached those in the know, were still able to recognise others. Some police forces unsuccessfully tried to link Stone Island's compass logo with that of the neo-Nazi Celtic cross. Because of this, new and more left of centre labels began to gain popularity amongst casuals. Prada, Fake London Genius, One True Saxon, Maharishi, Mandarina Duck, 6876, and Dupe began to gain widespread popularity.

Casual fashion has also had an increase in popularity recently with British music acts such as The Streets and The Mitchell Brothers sporting 'casual uniforms' in their music videos. It has also been highlighted by recent films such as The Football Factory, Green Street, and ID.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

  • Hooli-News Latest hooligan-related news and information from around the world.
  • 80s Casuals A casuals' nostalgia and memorabilia site
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