Mik's doing the other thing

From the big hair and drainpipes of the 1950s through classic punk anti-attitude to what’s new, Mik Scarlet says that the alternative fashion scene may be just the place to look for something to help you give people something to look at

Ever since Punk exploded on an unsuspecting world in the late 70s there have been some high profile disabled people whose style was left of centre. From Ian Dury in the 70s, to people like musician Bobby Style and myself in the 80s and 90s to Disability Now’s former fashionista Lara Masters, actor Mat Fraser and poet Penny Pepper there have been many well known disabled people who avoided high street fashion. I have always felt that for some reason “dressing weird” suits us disabled types. I do know that there are more and more young disabled people coming over to the dark side, so for those of you who like being a bit more creative about your fashion choices I popped down to the London Edge trade fair to find out what next season holds.

One of the big trends that could almost have been designed with disabled people in mind is Steampunk. It’s a crazy mix of Victorian elegance and sci-fi – imagine Sherlock Holmes in space – and it’s great. Whether you use a wheelchair, or sticks, whatever it just goes. The leader in this kind of design is RavenSDL (ravensdl.com/catalog) and my wardrobe is full of their stuff, especially their fantastic military jackets.

Another personal fave that has disability running through it is Punk. With Punk icons Ian Dury and Helen Wellington-Lloyd disability has always been synonymous with this classic alternative fashion scene. I used to wear my leg brace on the outside of my bondage trousers and clip bondage straps to it, making it a feature of my outfit. There are currently two schools of Punk fashion. One is old school, with companies like Tiger of London (tigeroflondon.co.uk) still making original designs straight out of 1977, the other is a more glamorous modern twist. If that appeals, then the great guys at Charles of London (charlesoflondon.com) are at the cutting edge.

If you fancy something different, but aren’t too keen on going too way out, then the retro 50s movement should be right up your street. At the minute it’s taking on a more cartoonish element, with the hair being brighter and bigger and the clothes being equally bright and colourful. So big D.A.s and beehives top off classic drainpipe jeans and tight T-shirts or crazy print dresses. Companies like Limb (limb-clothing.com); Lady K Loves (lady-k-loves.com); and Collectif (collectif.co.uk) make gorgeous 50s dresses, while my mate Miss Katie (misskatie.com) covers the designer end, with a range of sexy dresses and underwear. For the men try out Toxico’s Rednek range (toxico.co.uk) and Lucky 13 (lucky13apparel.com).

As well as major movements within the alternative scene, there are companies that just do cool stuff that is different. A personal favourite at the minute is the American designer Lip Service (lipservice.com).

They do it all, from classic rock, punk and Goth to cyber and steampunk, and they do it very well. Another UK company that do it all are Necessary Evil (katesclothing.co.uk) but they have their own take on alternative classics. Well worth a look. If you want to shop online but fancy doing it all via one shop try visiting Black Rose (blackrose.co.uk) who stock pretty much everything you might need. I’d also advise visiting your local alternative clothing shop, as not only will you get a personal service and support your local shops but you’ll find out about the alternative scene in your area.

And if you’re wondering if dressing “weird” is for you, I know I started dressing this way as it occurred to me that people were going to stare at me whatever, so I gave them something to stare at!