Alison B
I fell into writing about alternative style via writing about the more stylish corners of the alternative music scene in my own Bubblegum Slut Fanzine. Established at the turn of the millennium, as the anti-image ideology of grunge gave way to nu-metal’s baggy trousered anti-style, Bubblegum Slut was conceived as a haven for the sort of pre-1990s make-up caked musical trash that the mainstream press wouldn’t touch at that time, for fear of getting its bargepole all sticky with hairspray.
Covering such visually iconic genres as glam, Goth and psychobilly, it was a natural step for the ‘Slut to begin running articles on designers and style icons in later issues. As a primarily music-based zine though it could never provide more than a few pages as an outlet for my witterings on fringe fashion, and so I began scribing for the short-lived music and lifestyle glossy Alternative, before eagerly climbing aboard the Alt Fashion ship when it set sail, to fill what had been a gaping niche in the UK underground press.
When Bubblegum Slut was born, and glam was thin on the ground, I was a devoted teenage Rachel Stamp fan, sporting armfuls of plastic bangles and gallons of glitter – the now trademark fake-fur heart on the cover of the zine’s first issue was in fact created from offcuts from a DIY-fluffy skirt painstakingly sewn for a ‘Stamp gig! Since then I’ve served time in monochrome as a Goth club regular, enjoyed a staff discount on PVC and latex while paying my through uni assisting in an ‘adult’ store, clung to 80s glam style, and gleefully embraced the revival of spandex and studs from a decade fashion once claimed to have forgotten, and continued to amass more leopard print than many would say a girl ever really needs needs.
The stats
Name: Alison B
Residence: North London
Preferred style: Daytime staples are cowboy boots, Lip Service or Mogg jeans and band shirts in various states of DIY / disrepair. By night, corsetry and killer platforms are essentials!
Favourite designers/companies: Lip Service and Mogg for the most flattering denims about, Collectif and Get Cutie for retro cuts and cute, original prints, Demonia and Bordello for dangerous footwear, Toxico and Flaming Star for boy beaters and hoodies to see me through lazy days, and H&M and All Saints for high street guilty pleasures of preference!
Personal icons: Icons, inspirations and idols (none necessarily style icons!) – Nina Antonia, Emilie Autumn, Keef, Steve Dior, Nick Cave, Nikki Sudden & Lisa Crystal Carver.
Adores: Elegantly wasted rock ‘n’ rollers, sleeping too little in aid of going out and writing too much, and good vegan food.
Favourite quote: “If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to serve as a horrible warning.”
Website: Bubblegum slut zine
