Casual Culture - A Glimpse Into the Contentious Side of Football and Fashion

It's fair to say the rise in trends such as 'blokecore' has truly been quite something to behold. When you take something so distinctively British and then repurpose it for a fashion audience, not only does it gain attention, but it also poses certain questions like - "why have I seen this before?"

Well, it might not exactly be breaking news, but blokecore isn't actually very original in its roots. Long before bedroom bandits donned a retro United shirt and started strutting around with a can of Stella on TikTok, gents up and down the country adopted this dress sense many moons ago when football was in a different age.

If you haven't clocked it yet, we are of course talking about the football casual and terrace movement that rose to prominence during the late seventies. If you aren't familiar with the casual movement, it's a football subculture characterised by expensive designer clothing, passionate fans, and on occasion, violence.

Depending on who you ask, the casual movement can be traced back to the 1977 European Cup, where Liverpool FC stormed their way to a cup win beating Borussia Monchengladbach in the final. Naturally, throughout the tournament, thousands of impressionable Liverpool fans found their way onto European soil, and in turn, they started taking note of the French and Italian sportswear brands on offer.

This new uniform acted as a new source of pride amongst fans, and almost as a badge of honour for those who had been loyal enough to follow their team across the continent. Now given the fact this new subculture was during a pre-internet age, it took some time to spread organically, but within due course, the casual culture wave began to spread like wildfire among working-class lads up and down the country.

Typically, when most think of distinctive casual culture brands, the likes of Stone Island, C.P. Company and adidas all first spring to mind. While you can't argue the involvement of these labels, we would be remiss not to acknowledge some of the original pack leaders. During the earlier days, the likes of FILA, Diadora, Sergio Tacchini and Lacoste were rife amongst fans, with polo shirts and track tops being some of the key staples found on the terraces. By the turn of the '90s, luxury British labels such as Aquascutum and Burberry also found their way into casual wardrobes, acting as somewhat of a disguise from the Old Bill.

So besides looking the part, what was the purpose behind wearing these brands? Well, in a time when football hooliganism was on the rise and firm rivalries were more prominent than ever, being one of the well-dressed firms created a sense of one-upmanship among adversaries, with the rarer clothing and trainers commanding respect. Sure, it was partly about how well you could fight, but it was also about if you looked the part while you were doing it.

For a large portion, the media was responsible for sensationalising football hooliganism, but that's not to say it didn't happen. Sure, not every casual lad was prone to trouble, but we'd be lying if we said violence wasn't part of things. Just like the mods and rockers before them, football firms fought regularly up and down the country, leading media outlets to cover and condemn these events. With the clothes acting as somewhat of a uniform for the firms, it didn't take long for the brands they were wearing to be associated with violence and thuggery. Take Stone Island, for example. Even in this modern era, many people outside both the fashion and football realms still recognise Stone Island exclusively as a hooligan brand due to its links.

To this day, select pubs and clubs across the United Kingdom will bar those wearing Stone Island from entering due to the negative connotations associated with the brand. Some fans even speculate Manchester City's manager and Stone Island fan Pep Guardiola was forced to remove the iconic compass badge from his clothing during games. Naturally, as a brand that now positions itself within both the luxury goods and streetwear spaces, Stone Island likely isn't fond of this label, but as long as football fans continue to wear the brand, it's going to be a tough hex to shake.

There's no arguing the height of the casual movement existed during the '80s, but due to the rise in rave culture later on in that decade, the subculture lulled itself into somewhat of a state of limbo through to the '90s. Unbeknown to the casual fan, the '90s held two key events that would again propel the subculture back into the limelight. The first of which was the rise of Britpop, a musical subgenre that birthed acts such as Oasis, Blur, Suede and Pulp. Along with Britpop came somewhat of a mod-revival style of dress, but with notes of casual and terrace style sprinkled in. Parkas, bucket hats, adidas Gazelles and wide-legged Levi's were all worn in abundance, with classic casual brands all at the forefront.

The second event was the UEFA Euro 1996 tournament - a historic football event with England playing host to the best of the best in European teams. With the tournament held on UK soil, it was obvious this was going to attract the naughty side of football, so naturally, the media continued to vilify the casual fan base in a similar manner to how it had done during the 1980s. By this point, the casual style of dress was far more accessible to your run-of-the-mill lad. No longer did fans have to travel abroad to get their hands on the latest gear, and instead, you could get the look on your home turf.

By the turn of the early noughties, a spate of football-hooligan films further propelled casual culture into the limelight. The likes of Green Street, Football Factory and Mean Machine glorified and glamorised football violence, subsequently leading to a fresh wave of hot-tempered wannabe hooligans attending games across the country. Nowadays in the UK, besides the odd Twitter video of some Stone Island-clad youths misbehaving at a train station, football violence isn't particularly prevalent here.

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the selected European sides. Existing as a separate subculture is the "Ultras," a collective of die-hard fans renowned for their fanatical support. While at first glance behavioural tendencies would point towards the use of banners and harmless flares at games, certain Ultra groups advocate nationalist, racist, and anti-Semitic views. In addition, selected groups have even been known to organise mass ultra-on-ultra brawls, filming and posting their exploits on social media. While the ultras and casuals alike both wear the same brands, it's an important distinction to remember that a few bad apples don't spoil the bunch. While there are instances of violence among these groups, some are just members for the sake of being passionate about both the sport of football and their chosen clubs.

In the modern era, casual culture is still strong, particularly among those who first embraced it during its early days. Social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram have allowed like-minded casual heads to connect and form existing communities, continuing with part of the traditions now set around 45 years ago. As time goes by, the wider fashion world is also starting to reinterpret typical casual trends, for good and for bad depending on who you ask.

Take the revival of adidas Sambas, for example. What was once a trainer worn widely on the terraces of football grounds everywhere has now found its place scattered across both the streetwear and high-fashion realms. You can partly credit this adoption due to recent collaborations between adidas and luxury brand Wales Bonner. By reinterpreting the classic Samba shape, you could attribute Wales Bonner for managing to bring the shoe back to the forefront of modern fashion.

With the relationship between fashion and football seemingly growing closer by the year, it almost poses the question of where casual culture will fit in. Will we continue to see common tropes adopted by blokecore and repurposed for high-fashion purposes? Or will casual culture ultimately fizzle out back into obscurity? The truth is, only time will tell, but considering the culture is already over four decades deep, we can't see it disappearing anytime soon.

For more similar to this, check out "We Asked Football Casuals What They Think Of the Current Terrace Sneaker Trend"