Nazi chic
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In fashion, Nazi chic refers to the use of Nazi-era imagery and paraphernalia in clothing.
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[edit] Early use
Sometime after 1945, various Neo-Nazi groups used clothing designed to invoke memory of Hitler to state their political persuasion.
[edit] Attempts to mainstream the swastika
During the 1970s punk scene, several items of clothing designed to offend 'The Establishment' were becoming popular. Among these was a T-shirt displaying a Swastika and the word DESTROY- this shirt was worn by Johnny Rotten in the Sex Pistols video for 'Pretty Vacant'. Siouxsie Sioux of Siouxsie and the Banshees was also known to wear a swastika armband for shock value. Most of the use in punk fashion was due to its shock value. Other times, the intended statement was anti-authoritarian political criticism, as had been the case in philosophical films such as A Clockwork Orange. Rarely was there an actual interest in promoting Nazi views, and those with such interests more than likely became part of the Nazi skinhead subculture when it emerged. Today, this has occurred to such an extent that in the public perception, the skinhead look is almost always associated with far-right politics, and anti-immigration or far-right parties are almost always associated with skinheads. This has led to campaigns by anti-racist skinheads, such as Anti-Racist Action, Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice and Red and Anarchist Skinheads, on the basis of 'laces and braces don't make a racist'.
Typical street wear for the Nazi of these times would involve a shaven head, turned up blue jeans to display a pair of clean black boots. As politicizing occurred, shoelace colors became a method of scene identification, but this was never standardized. The chest would be emblazoned with tattoos, often covered with a plain white round-necked T-shirt. T-shirts would not have to be plain, sometimes they are complimented with overtly Nazi imagery or wording. A popular design, for example, would be "Adolf Hitler European Tour".
[edit] "Adolf Hitler European Tour" shirts
In 1984, two T-shirt designs featuring Hitler became popular. The more famous of the two was the "European Tour" design, which featured a picture of Adolf Hitler against the backdrop of a map of Europe, with conquered territories shaded. The writing accompanying the picture read:
- September 1939 Poland
- September 1940 England Cancelled
- April 1940 Norway
- April 1941 Jugoslavia
- May 1940 Luxembourg
- May 1941 Greece
- May 1940 Holland
- June 1941 Crete
- May 1940 Belgium
- August 1942 Russia Cancelled
- June 1940 France
- July 1945 Berlin Bunker.
A less popular T-shirt featured Hitler giving the Roman salute, and a yo-yo hanging from his hand. Text read "European yo-yo champion 1939-1945". Sale of the apparel led to a legal case in Germany [1] in an attempt to have it banned as 'glorifying genocide'. Local courts found against the shirt pressers, although Bavarian state courts later found in their favor. The Bavarian State Ministry of Justice took a more moderate view on the matter.[citation needed]
[edit] Nazi culture and Asian rise
Recently, the 'Hitlerian' image and various Nazi German uniforms and other related material have been on sale in the Far East, where it is considered "cool". Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan have all witnessed a growth in the casual wearing of SS uniforms, and sometimes listen to White Power music. Some East Asians are interested in what Hitler said about East Asian history and philosophy, the Nazi work ethic, as well as militaries that wore Hugo Boss, drove tanks made by Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, and did as they pleased. The German and Israeli embassies in these countries have pressured the local authorities to shut down Nazi-themed bars, but this has usually resulted in the bar re-opening with only a changed name and no real change in attitude. George Burdi, the former singer in the Neo-Nazi band RaHoWa claimed to have sold many CDs to Japan, because some Japanese believed themselves to be "The white men of the East". Elsewhere in Asia, in Turkey, Hitler's book Mein Kampf is an annual bestseller [2][3]; Russia is said by most to have the largest number of Nazi-Skinheads in the world (over 50,000). In South America, where defacto segregation is largely in place, the white minorty has a tendency to embrace the far-right, and a great many people have Swastika tattoos.[citation needed]
[edit] Political or non-political?
In some parts of the world, the Second World War is not taught in schools as a battle of ideologies (Fascism, Communism, Leninism, Capitalism and Marxism, etc.) but as a conventional war. This education means that Hitler and the NSDAP are not treated as war criminals or evil, but as leaders of countries during wartime. Students are invited to make up their own minds on how they view Hitler. Students are likely to be aware of Hitler's charisma and power and it is not surprising that many view Hitler as an idol. Often in the Far East, Nazi uniforms are used as part of cosplay (see international cosplay), although many people wear Nazi uniforms or Neo-Nazi whilst being fully aware of the Western revulsion at the idea. Nazi ideology and symbolism such as the swastika are still viewed as a taboo subject within Western culture. A different motivation has caused the popularity of Nazism in Russia, which has suffered hardships after the fall of communism. (See Liberal Democratic Party of Russia) Russian nationalism also plays a role.
[edit] Western reaction
Predictably, Western reaction to the Asian phenomenon has been one of sharp criticism and utter astonishment. Western diplomats, especially Germans and Israelis, have complained heavily, pointing out that Asians suffered under Japanese Militarism and occupation, and frequently compare them as an Asian version of Nazism in order to convey their discontent.
A person attending an REM concert on the 28th of September 1986 wearing the "Adolf Hitler European Tour" T-shirt was asked to leave by Michael Stipe.
[edit] Recent western Nazi or related paraphernalia
Agata Siwek, who grew up near Auschwitz, has been selling key rings and shirts in the Netherlands with pictures of holocaust tattoos and Nazi slogans [4]
The American glam metal band Mötley Crüe inserted in the booklet of the album Mötley Crüe (1994) an image of Nikki Sixx dressed as a Nazi. Officially, that photo was related to a lyric about the mistake of judging by the appearances, but actually it was inserted to mock the media. The discographer decided to cancel that photo and to reprint the whole booklet. In the Mötley Crüe autobiography "The Dirt" the band writes about their "Nazi Wednesdays", in which they used to walk down the street dressed in Nazi uniforms.
[edit] Nazi involvements in fashion
Kenny Howard, the posthumous namesake of fashionable clothing manufacturer Von Dutch, declared himself to be a Nazi, often seen wearing a shirt emblazoned with a swastika and the words "We lost". He was known to have the trappings of a neo-Nazi. Yet, some have conversely said that this was all part of Von Dutch's offensive humor.[citation needed]
Coco Chanel had an affair with a Nazi Officer, and is believed to have had sympathies.[citation needed]
Hugo Boss manufactured uniforms for the Schutzstaffel (SS).[citation needed]
Christian Dior spent much of World War II making dresses for the wives of German officers, although he had fought for France until the occupation of Paris.[citation needed]
[edit] Nazi chic in fetish clothing
Nazi chic is a highly controversial topic in the fetish clothing world. Much of the fetish community regards Nazi chic as highly offensive, and most fetish clubs ban overt Nazi symbolism. However, the symbolism of fascist, communist, and other regimes remains popular: a common compromise is to adopt the main design features of Nazi-era clothing -- peaked caps, jackboots, trenchcoats, and so forth -- but not to include any explicit Nazi symbols as part of the outfit. Sometimes, substitute symbols are used as part of the outfit, with designs that clearly reference the design styles of Nazi symbols without actually copying them.
