What is Cyberpunk style? If you think about neon lights, skyscrapers and dystopian landscapes, well you're right ! But the cyberpunk ideology is not limited to that ! The Cyberpunk fascinates and intrigues by its offbeat codes since the dawn of times.
This dystopian future, as violent as pessimistic, never stops inspiring the thinking heads of contemporary culture. But what really defines it? What are the pillars of this movement? What are the dress codes of this innovative style? This is what we will see in this blog article! Get ready to become a Cyberpunk expert !
WHAT IS CYBERPUNK?
Cyberpunk is a movement based on the omnipresence of computer networks, the disappearance of man/machine boundaries and the punk protest movement.
The landscapes of the cyberpunk genre are often described as futuristic, urban and rich in colors with a multitude of neon lights.
The term "Cyberpunk" consists of two components:
- "Cyber" refers to "cybernetics", the new technologies associated in particular with computing but also nanotechnology and biotechnology.
- "Punk" refers to the counter-culture movement that bears this name. The doctrine of this movement is based on a perpetual questioning of authority. The punk protagonists who appear in various books and films are often presented as anti-heroes, rebels, criminals or dissidents.
The bases of Cyberpunk are therefore on the side of SF and dystopia. In addition, two very distinctive elements are added: the advent of computer technology, and progressive transhumanism.
On the other hand, Cyberpunk movies generally take place in the relatively near future, where everything seems to have tipped into hyperconnectivity, a suffocating surplus of information, making people docile, servile or at least disillusioned.
Cyberpunk depicts a pessimistic society, lost, oppressed by perpetual violence and often enslaved by an almost totalitarian power in which our societies are hanging on by a thread.
CYBERPUNK ORIGINS
The cyberpunk movement is a very rich cultural movement whose influences range from film and music to fashion and design, all derived from science fiction. "Cyberpunk" is often described as a world full of very advanced technologies, but inhabited by a population of very modest means.
It was first used in 1980 as the title of a short story by Bruce Bethke, an American science fiction writer who seeks to combine two ideas, two notions. The punk attitude and high technology to express a new vision of the future. The term "cyberpunk" will soon be used in the literary movement to refer to other works of post-modern science fiction, and later to a genre as a whole.
Other authors also participated in the emergence of this movement in the years that followed. For example, Gardner Dozois, director of the science fiction magazine Asimov SF Magazine, was instrumental in popularizing the genre. Then there was William Gibson, a science fiction author who used the term "cyberspace" for the first time. We can also mention Lews Shiner and John Shirley.
This sub-genre of science fiction is rooted in the New Wave movement that emerged in the 60s and 70s, and is fully in line with the cultural and societal upheavals of the time. The culture of addiction and more particularly of drugs, technological progress and the sexual revolution gave ideas to authors seeking to take the utopian movement of traditional science fiction in the opposite direction.
CYBERPUNK VS SOLARPUNK
Like cyberpunk, "Solarpunk" is a kind of speculative fiction wrapped in a characteristic aesthetic that paints a vision of the future we could create. Unlike cyberpunk, solarpunk offers a more optimistic vision of the future but never dystopian.
The aesthetics of solarpunk combines the practical with the beautiful, the well-designed with the green and the wild. A vision far away from the almost post-apocalyptic decors proposed by the cyberpunk movement. In addition to the aesthetic differences, an essential difference between solarpunk and cyberpunk is the emphasis on solutions, not warnings.
The cyberpunk movement draws on the fear of what might happen, and uses it as a premise to create tension in the plot. Solarpunk encourages us to accept the reality of the present and to move forward by focusing on solutions to problems that arise.
Other movements also include a futuristic vision with a similar fundamental approach, such as steampunk, which highlights a world dominated by the industrial revolution.
CYBERPUNK STYLE CLOTHING
Cyberpunk is above all an aesthetic. So it's not surprising to see the fashion industry taking over this trend. More than a simple statement of style, the clothing must bring a functional added value to users.
As in the Techwear genre, clothing is meant to be thoughtful and serve to define the individual, as well as to help him in his daily life. In addition to the must-have face mask, the cyberpunk wardrobe is found in the iridescent textures, the pieces with metallic textures, The neon make-up trend and flashy dyes, emblematic of the visual identity of this universe and the tinted glasses. 👓
Cyberpunk aesthetics has also become a fashionable concept for luxury and beauty brands. This is notably the case for Louis Vuitton and Prada, whose muses posed in cybernetic outfits!
HOW TO DRESS CYBERPUNK?
As seen before and just like techwear outfits, Cyberpunk fashion is characterized by a futuristic, innovative and practical style. There are many similarities such as :
- Cargo pants
- Leather boots
- Face mask
- Black jacket
Add flashy accessories and neon colors, such as glasses, necklaces, or even a neon t-shirt to look like a Cyberpunk!
CYBERPUNK ART STYLE
The colors associated with this counterculture are generally dark with bright colors to give the sets a bright futuristic look. The main choices are pink and blue with their various combinations. One generally discovers futuristic landscapes marked by the contrast of the modest means of the population. 🎨
CYBERPUNK TYPOGRAPHY
The influences of the cyberpunk movement can be found in modern designs everywhere these days: contrasting color combinations, original layouts, or even computer-modified typography that doesn't obey the traditional rules of the genre. Glitch effects are a great way to bring a futuristic touch to any design while adding depth and texture to the composition.
CYBERPUNK MOVIES
While it is impossible to mention all the emblematic works of the movement, we will nevertheless review the moments that have marked and shaped the development of this culture over the years. This will allow us to better understand the relevance of cyberpunk in the designs of our own time.
Cyberpunk has had a great influence on cinema and television, inspiring the aesthetics of many films. One of the pioneers was Blade Runner, a film adaptation directed by Ridley Scott. Although the film was not a success when it was released in 1982, it will become for future generations the quintessence of cyberpunk in its dystopian and neo-black aesthetics as well as in the themes it addresses.
Other films inspired by this culture have seen the light of day, such as "The Matrix" or in another genre, "Elysium". 🎥
CYBERPUNK MANGAS
In their turn, manga integrate the Cyberpunk universe into their stories by putting forward a dystopian society. For example Akira is an emblematic work published between 1982 and 1989, in which we follow a gang of bikers of the future, in a corrupt Neo-Tokyo whose leaders plot to the detriment of the inhabitants.
In Ghost in the Shell, a manga published in 1989 and adapted into an anime in 1995, the two main characters, Motoko Kusanagi and Batô, are enhanced humans, cyborgs. Only Motoko's brain is human while his whole body is robotic. In this manga, we even talk about transhumanism, a philosophy that advocates the transformation of the human condition through sophisticated technologies in order to considerably improve human intelligence and physiology. 🦿
CYBERPUNK STYLE GAMES
Cyberpunk occupies an important place in video games, almost since its beginnings. In the video game Deus Ex, the main character is also a cyborg, a "nano-augmented" human. 🧬
More recently we discovered the game Cyberpunk 2077, an RPG in a cyberpunk universe, that is to say dystopic on the edges and transhumanist in its heart.
BECOME CYBERPUNK
Science fiction has always asked the big questions, while preparing us for what might be around the corner. Our reality does not yet include flying cars as Philip K. Dick and William Gibson had imagined.
But we still live in a kind of dystopia where people watch their screens all day long, where political campaigns can be manipulated through the Internet and where you can put a helmet on your head to explore a completely different universe. So the influence of the cyberpunk movement in our current social reality seems more relevant than ever.
Embrace the cyberpunk fashion and express your originality with this amazing cyberpunk jacket!
