Have you been to Selfridges recently (and I don’t mean its dreadful flash heavy website)? The department store which has never had the balls to use “We don’t just sell fridges” as a slogan, has turned all punk. There are effortlessly tastefully tasteless window dressed displayed of punk past and future. Its less of an issue to put a safety pin through the nose of a plastic mannequin I suppose*.
Selfridges has, over the last year or so, realised that to remain distinctive they have to put on events. Up until now these events have been on the whole geographical in nature. Last year we welcomed Brazil in store, previously Japan got a look in. But time is just a different sort of geographical displacement, and punk does make for good visuals. And so they are showing punk films in store (Filth & Fury, Rock’n’Roll Swindle), plus curating ideas such as FuturePunk which is as lame as it sounds. It is odd seeing the punk mannequins in the window – but as this Time Out article suggests, not surprising. Punk did not so much become commercial as get eaten whole – and that Mr Selfridge wants in on the bandwagon thirty years on should surprise no-one. The only really surprising thing is that the tedious old pantomime dame John Lydon is not involved.
List of events here: CarsmileSteve of this parish will be bitterly disappointed to miss the Punk Rock Karaoke I fear.
*Unless of course she turns out to be an Egyptian Princess played by Kim Catrall in which case it might still cause some aggravation.