Modernist Musings

 So who are these NeoMods of whom I seem endlessly to speak of, to be frank I am unsure if the term NeoMods exist beyond the cloistered warblings of this blog. Maybe it does and I accedentally stumbled upon it but I've never really heard it said anywhere else. Obviously there were mods in the late fifties [the modernists] and the early sixties [the mods of pop culture infamy] who faded as the decade progressed to re-emerge as Suedeheads and skinheads at the dawning of the seventies, with a full scale mod revial occuring at the end of that decade to flourish for a couple of years in the eighties before fading beneath a morass of New Romanticism. Another modernist fashion the casuals, football hooligans in sportwear and golf sweaters, seemed to fill a mod void for some but this was more concerned with the look than the music, but its sharp dress become absorbed into later mod fashion. All the while the soul boys travelling a parallel path where sometimes the paths merged and others the followed similar routes just taking different directions. After the heady revival of the eighties the nineties saw the birth of Britpop, British musician inspired by earlier British bands some of which were heavily influenced by mod.

In my need to place all of these various mod fashion and music factions under a single umbrella I coined the phrase NeoMods. I doubt such a thing exists today as a movement but individuals of note that I would call NeoMods would be Liam Gallagher, Paul Weller et al; musicians of that uilk who have taken classic mod fashion and added a twenty first century twist, utilising all the phases of mod to create a distinct look that is simultaneously mod, suedehead, casual, and indie Britpop with soul and the driving rhythm. I do not view NeoMod as a musical genre but as a fashion genre; NeoMods dress in a certain style but listen to old style mod music, heavily influenced by sixties US soul, British beat bands, Caribean ska and the revivalist ska and mod bands of the eighties. Less retro in their fashion NeoMods like classic cuts but have moved away from sharp suits into a more casual but still classic look. Sharp tailored high collared leather jackets are a classic NeoMod fashion item, The rest an amalgamation of the modernist fashion decades:, a touch of skin, a dash of the casualsL plus a smattering of BritPop to culminate in a sharply defined fashion statement.

Another factor in my definition of the virtual NeoMod is  its application to the fashion metaverse. Strict mod fashion is extremely difficult to find across the grid; authentic skinhead/suedehead fashion sufferes similarly. There are a plethora of track top and sweater accomadating a strict casuals look and the indie Britpop T-Shirt look is well catered for. But, twenty first century mod fashion needs to adapt and a restricted virtual environment seemed ideal for harnessing that need to change, to accomodate and to adapt. Unable to create my own fashions it was necessary to take items that felt mod, whilst not always necessarily being mod,. uif they had the correct modernist vibe I would adopt them into my own NeoMod fashionista bible. This is clearly illustrated throughout the blog, agree or disagree its all open to debate but this is how I opt to define my NeoMod stylings. Feel free to reinterpret it at will.

Are there NeoMods in the real world who label themselves as such I doubt it, afterall its an effective hangar to fling a variety of fashionable virtual items on in a vain attempt to give me something to waffle about when the virtual club scene is quiet. I define myself as a virtual NeoMod, who possesses modernist tendencies in the real world but no longer clings to modernist fashion rituals outside of his Second Life metaverse. The rise of the NeoMods has yet to take place I'm not entirely certain it ever will. The accompanying snaps in this piece explain bettter my vision of NeoMod fashion, sharp tailored trousers, smart loafers and exquiste high collared designed leather jacket, cool hair and chilled shades ... thats NeoMod.

ciao.