British Musical Experience at the O2

On Wednesday, June 15th, we, the Raymond Walters College British Study Abroad Group, went to the British Musical Experience in Greenwich, England at the O2, a state-of-the-art concert arena and entertainment district. The British Musical Experience is a hands-on, interactive, music museum that spans the history of popular music in Britain from the 40's through today. Listening to the many genres of music was fascinating, but seeing many of the performer's actual costumes was especially entertaining to me. Thinking about these fashions impressed on me the influence that popular performers have on the cultural evolution of society's fashion and how popular culture also impacts performers. Through many album covers and authentic outfits worn by performers on display, it was interesting to see the evolution of clothing styles that performers progressed through and fans emulated. 

The Beatles started their long running success dressed in a style adopted from the Mod youth cult that was popular in the United Kingdom when they began performing. In this regard, the culture impacted how they first presented themselves to the public. In the Mod youth style, Mod stands for Modernist and was a term used to describe the more modern and progressive look of a style-conscious jazz fan with an Italian taste, rather than the Trad, short for traditional, attire. It was a classy look that proclaimed importance and taste. Ringo Starr's black Mod suit was on display at the British Musical Experience. Also, one of their very first albums, Introducing The Beatles, pictured them in the Mod style. This Mod style worn by the Beatles progressed from black suits to gray suits and then went out of style when it became too commercialized and pushed from the top down rather than being created by the young people making their statement.

As the political and social unrest intensified due to opposition of the Vietnam war, young people started rebelling against the establishment. This rebelling took the form of anti-war protests and developed into promotions of peace and love. Drugs were a logical way to buck the establishment, assert independence, escape pressures, unite, and supposedly pursue an enlightened perspective. This drug use led to the more flamboyant and colorful attire of the psychedelic era. The Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album shown at the British Musical Experience was a good example of this flamboyant and colorful time in the Beatle's career. The anti-war culture of the day influenced the Beatles in this change, but they in turn influenced their fans and expanded the hippie subculture.

The hippie subculture was also influenced by the Beatle's spiritual quest. With their maturing, the advent of this more enlightened global perspective and the materialistic life the Beatles were living, it's easy to see how they would need to seek out a more significant and meaningful existence. Their search for peace led them to Transcendental Meditation, and it was a trend that stabilized them toward the end of the Sixties. George Harrison especially became interested in Eastern music and taught himself to play the sitar. A sitar like George Harrison's was on display in the British Musical Experience. With this trend, the Beatles started wearing Indian-influenced fashions like their Transcendental Meditation leader, Maharisi Mahesh Yogi, including collarless shirts and sandals. Long hair and facial hair was also a result of this quest. These fashions were additionally assimilated into the hippie culture. 

Cultivating this attitude of peace and non-materialism naturally led to more down-to-earth and casual fashions including t-shirts and blue jeans. This also led to a minimalistic style reflected in the white suits that John Lennon made popular. Both of these clothing styles are displayed on the Beatle's Abbey Road album where George Harrison is wearing jeans and John Lennon is wearing his white suit crossing Abbey Road.  This minimalistic style was even carried over to a completely white cover on their album called The Beatles. (Since I negligently forgot to pack my white suit, I’ll have to pretend to be George Harrison in my imitation of the Beatles Abbey Road walk on July 2nd.) 

When each of these styles are analyzed with the culture and the progression is followed, it is interesting how the fashions proceed. It seems to me that some of the Beatle's styles, like the Mod, were fed by the culture, while others like the psychedelic, were fed by the culture and the culture was also fed by the performers. Each fashion evolved into the next logical fashion style. The Beatles also grew from being influenced by culture, because of a desire to be liked and successful, to a more confident display of their own tastes that instead influenced the culture. One last fashion element that exemplifies a performer’s potential impact on the cultural fashion, that I would be remiss in not mentioning, is John Lennon's round glasses. These glasses were on display at the British Musical Experience. I think they are a perfect example of how a beloved performer can influence fashion culture as evidenced by the amount of people who started wearing similar spectacles trying to emulate John Lennon.