It can be said that a Man, a Woman, and a Band were responsible for the punk look that we recognized today. Who were they? Well they were legendary Malcom McLauren, punk fashion priestess Vivienne Westwood and the infamous punk band The Sex Pistols. How did they chance upon each other and created the punk look we so recognized today? The story will have to go back to the 1970s. Malcom McLauren, chanced upon the original punk movement that was started in the United States when he was managing the band New York Dolls. He was so inspired by the vibrant, colorful and deconstructionist styles of these band that when he quit managing the New York Dolls he went back to Britain and recreated his own band (The Sex Pistols) with the help of his friend cum kindred spirit Vivienne Westwood. They hijacked the classic punk look epitomized by American Richard Hell (Bass player of Television) with safety pins, torn clothes and spiky hair and styled the band after him. The lead singer (a Richard Hell lookalike that often patronized Malcolm’s and Vivienne’s store SEX) was christened Johnny Rotten, they renamed their SEX store Seditionaries and sold the clothes they wore and the rest as they say is history. They brought about the punk movement in Britain and rocked the world with their cutting edge style of their dressing, colorful language, shocking antics and angry songs. They were the fashion leaders and brought immediate attention to the punk styles pushing it to greater heights. The youth culture liked what they saw and fell for it line, hook and sinker. Basically, they were trying to sell and promote a lifestyle that anything goes, they key to it is being experimental, to challenge the norms of conventions and not be afraid to be as trashy and shocking as possible. This angry and rebellious style brought life and vibrancy to the gloom streets of London and was one of the most powerful statements the youth culture ever made. The statement that they made was controversial and shook the straight-laced Britons badly. Many conservatives had nasty things to say about this new wave and look of this punk culture but the youths didn’t care, it was a time of rebellion, in fact, the more noise they make the happier they were. It was truly a period of youthful energy but alas this period was short-lived. The saga ended when Johnny Rotten quit the Sex Pistols while they were touring America, at the height of their popularity in 1978, and when Sid Vicious (another Sex Pistol’s band members) died of a drug overdose in 1979. This movement lasted a mere 18 months. However the punk spirit didn’t die, the free spirit of doing things differently, daring to have an individual style, thirst for new things, creating new things with their bare hands, lived on. It spurred on the underground culture, and pushed the limits of creativity in style, music, graphics, art, politics, liteature, till today! Vive le Punk!