In London, Rave Culture Is Alive and Unwell at Sports Banger
Rave Culture is Alive And Unwell at SportsBanger in London
At Burberry’s Fall 2019 show yesterday, Riccardo Tisci took a nostalgic look through his luxury lens back to London’s era of peak rave culture. But that’s not to say that rave—proper, unlicensed, anarchic, counterculture revelry—has withered and died. Only a few hours later (and way, way off the official London Fashion Week schedule) an uproarious fashion show debut demonstrated that the underground party spirit is alive, well, and currently living in Seven Sisters.
That is the North London neighborhood that is home to Sports Banger, a brand that combines bootleg satire, for-the-people sportswear, social campaigning, and hard-core techno. Its founder, Jonny Banger, has built a fan base based on his upside down Reebok logo, anti-Thatcher polo shirt, and many other cheeky pieces of which perhaps the most significant was his breakthrough Free Tulisa tee.
Last night’s show, attended by a ragtag audience of 50 that included Turner Prize winner Jeremy Deller and former All Saints singer Melanie Blatt, was held in the studio and shop that has acted as Sport Banger HQ ever since its last tenant was shut down by the counterterrorism branch of the Metropolitan Police (really). Perhaps the boldest look was a yellow hazmat suit accessorized with a massive Mitsubishi (if you know, you know). This suit, like the toweling tracksuits and the slick plastic macs and trousers, was tailored from upcycled surplus stock left over from Sports Banger’s 2018 collaboration with Slazenger and its owner, Sports Direct. The macs were originally pool rafts (their transformation came thanks to the designer Ancuta Sarca who met Banger at a rave and offered to pitch in); the tracksuits were towels; and that hazmat suit was crafted from robust Sports Banger–branded Golf Sale shopping bags.
The most popular model of the night was a dog named Chino, who wore a jacket cut from a vintage bolt of dog-pattern jacquard that Banger said he had been sitting on for a while. It was accessorized by a human wearing a tracksuit, made by Banger’s neighbor, Tottenham Textiles, cut in the same material. The Slazenger collection also included sweats upon which Banger had, with evident relish, emphasized the first name of the company’s founder: Ralph. In the show, this outfit was accompanied by a face mask and a crowbar.
All this was revealed to a DJ-spun soundtrack. The models danced their way down the tight-packed catwalk, and at the end they all came out again wearing possibly the finest garment ever sold by Sports Direct: the Slazenger Banger Piano Key tracksuit. It was, for want of another word, banging.
Afterward, Banger said: “I’ve been putting on raves for a while, but I tell you, doing a fashion show is much more complicated.” The next Banger mega rave is this Friday; maybe check it out, Riccardo! And hats off to Jonny Banger, keeper of the flame.
