What’s Cyberpunk?
Taking off and rocketing sky-high in trends, fashion, design, movies, and games is Cyberpunk culture. While Cyberpunk is a rather difficult concept to briefly describe, Cyberpunk is a king of subgenre from the category of science fiction. It is set in a dystopian setting from the future that showcases scientific and technological achievements.
These can include, but not limited to, cybernetics, AI (artificial intelligence) and so much more. If we were to describe the Cyberpunk culture in a sentence, it would be a mixture of:
“High-tech and low-life”
It is not only a culture but is also a lifestyle. One side of the Cyberworld has a nasty underground world filled with gangs, illegal drugs, and its trade all in process, all the while having major powerful corporations. Filled with fortune and its forces. And in the midst of it, all are the politicians, social disruptions, and corruption on a large scale.
The Dawn of Cyber World
There are several places and a number of ways through which we can trace the origin of this cyber world. But a place where the birth of it can be pinpointed is to the author of the short story ‘Cyberpunk’, Bruce Bethke. There are also a number of people who have built the cyber world from the ground up. People like William Gibson, who is considered the father of Cyberpunk culture, Lewis Shiner, Bruce Sterling, Pat Cadigan, Rudy Rucker, and John Shirley.
Novels that boosted the culture included, The Demolished Man, The Stars My Destination, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Gravity’s Rainbow, The Shockwave Rider, True Names and Snow Crash. All of these have highly contributed to the era and the literary genre.
Looking For Meaning
As everyone is different, the meaning of the word Cyberpunk can differ from person to person. What it means to you, could mean something different to another person. How we can help you define it for you to find your style is, through breaking the word down itself.
As mentioned before, the word ‘Cyber’ refers to the technology of all sorts. It can relate from cybernetic advancement to other forms. Such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, and more. Whereas the word ‘punk’ refers to the characteristics as the one of a cyberpunk protagonist. They have the traits of being the anti-heroes, misfits, criminals, and outsiders.
Style
The story, scene, and setting of Cyberpunk is as said, highly influenced by the above personalities and their novels. What also adds to this style and culture are movies, video games, role-playing games as well. Such as Cyberpunk 2020 and Shadowrun.
Directors often use the element of crime fiction and film noir, to share in-depth about the nihilistic underground part of the technological society. A living breathing example of the technological and economical state that matches quite similarly to a Cyberpunk 80s literature setting would be Japan. “Modern Japan simply was Cyberpunk”, says William Gibson. And it does show!
The cyberspace feel, techwear clothes, urbanized landscapes, use of artificial intelligence, and the race to create the next big technological advancement, all are present in Japan. It almost seems like virtual reality.
Becoming It
As said, being cyberpunk isn’t a style. It is a choice, a lifestyle, an attitude. Whereby you commit to a culture, as you have the correct traits of what’s it like being a protagonist in your own story or world. A person who considers themselves as cyberpunk is someone who is aware of their environment. They are aware of the illegal activities, the corrupt businesses, the financial and political disruption. And choose to decide for themselves on what they think is the real truth, rather than the average lies an ordinary human would be fed with.
Someone who is a part of the cyberpunk culture is conscious of the fact that the world consists of different opinions. They must weigh and balance everything on their own to decide what and whose side they are on.
They are mindful of the fact that the system is not in their favor. That every odd is against them, but only a real cyberpunk would know how to crack that system in as well. They would know how to cut through it all, which is what makes them so dangerous and not to be messed with. Yet again proving, that choosing to opt for this culture is indeed a lifestyle.
What is Techwear?
While regular clothing articles serve the purpose of simply making you look good, techwear is something different. To put it in simple words, it is a style of clothing line that serves an objective rather than just looking fashionable. They are articles that have a purpose behind you wearing them, which could include giving you the storage, being water-resistant, providing heat insulation, being breathable and so much more!
And once this techwear element is combined with the futuristic cyberpunk culture, it can prove to become a clothing line that will fulfill every techwear and cyberpunk lover’s heart. Articles of clothing that are not only functional, serve a purpose but also give you the ‘High-tech and Low-life’ feel to itself.
While it can be difficult to find the correct brand to shop such unique sets of clothes from, you no longer have to worry about facing this obstacle. Our online clothing store has everything available from dystopian masks, to hi-fi, storage providing pants, jackets and so much more. Thus, now you can not only express your love for the Cyberculture but can also style clothes that are functional. That has an aim, an objective, and is not simply for the purpose of showing off. It would come in handy in our day to day functions and life.
With the rapid speed of changing technology and fashion trends, a righteous cyberpunk follower would choose the functionality and use of their clothes rather than simply wearing it to look good. With someone of this caliber, they surely deserve to wear garments that have a purpose, just like their protagonist trait. Something that is out of the box, yet fits in. That makes them stand out and refutes our regular, normal looking fashion trends and clothes. For this is what makes a cyberpunk distinctive from others, their uniqueness.
When is it?
So now that you have gathered all the information you need to know about the cyberpunk world, the background, the beginner to end, its inspirations and authors behind it, as well as the trends of what it takes to be the protagonist in your life. What are you waiting for? This dystopian future has a bright future, and it’s in its making right now. Cyberpunk is taking place right now. As evolution and rapid advancement take place, we know for a fact that it is.
Not only this, but we are a part of a living breathing proof of the fact that cyberpunk culture is taking place as of right now. With growing scientific and technological advancements, artificial intelligence growing faster and smarter with each passing day like brain-controlled prosthetics, the number of growing businesses that are now dominating not only politics but also influence culture. Hence, creating a situation for subversion.
Along with this comes the increasing wage gaps and status gaps between the rich and poor. The two categories get pushed afar more and more with every changing government and political party. It shows that it is all indeed a scam.
Cyberpunk, however, stops for no one. It itself has been brought into the spotlight a million times. Hackers are also now able to crack into innocent civilians, corrupt businesses, government, and illegal underground gangs.
Conclusion
So we welcome you to this cyberpunk age. Where all of the following takes place. The Cyberpunk culture has started to seep into modern media, fashion, design, games, and novels. Which is why it is no longer just a subgenre, but a culture. Where ever you go, you would end up finding cyberpunk culture one way or the other. There is a piece of it present in every and any shape or form in our day to day life, all we have to do it look around for it.
As cyberpunk becomes more and more trendy, we can see it has influenced fashion, philosophy, media, art, comics, architecture. With the passage of time, we can see that it is turning into an iconic look, an aesthetic that everyone is willing and wanting to jump upon. As it is much more advance and bigger than it was once it began.
This futuristic dystopian era will continue to flourish and become more and more relevant as we go further into time. Because the future for cyberpunk is now.