New Romantics

New Romanticism can be seen as a reaction to punk, and was heavily influenced by former glam rock stars of the 1970s such as David Bowie and Roxy Music. terms of style it rejected the austerity and anti-fashion stance of punk. Both sexes often dressed in counter-sexual or androgynous clothing and wore cosmetics such as eyeliner and lipstick, partly derived from earlier punk fashions. This "gender building" was particularly evident in figures such as Boy George of Culture Club and Marily (Peter Robinson).
Common hairstyles included quiffs, mullets, and wedges. Soon after they began to gain mainstream attention, however, many New Romantic bands dropped the eclectic clothes and make-up in favour of sharp suits.
New Romantic looks were propagated from fashion designer Helen Robinson's Covent Garden shop PX^, began to influence major collections and were spread, with a delay, through reviews of what was being worn in clubs via magazines including i-D. The emergence of the New Romantic movement into the mainstream coincided wit Vivienne's unveiling of her "pirate collection", which was promoted by Bow Wow Wow and Adam and the Ants, who were managed by her then partner Malcolm Mclaren. However, the post-punk Adam Ant himself has always denied being a New Romantic, and reiterated this in 2012.
The band Japan also refuted any connection with the New Romantic movement, having adopted an androgynous look incorporating make-up ever since their inception in the mid-1970s at the tail-end of the glam rock era, many years before the New Romantic movement began. In an October 1981 interview, vocalist Sylvian commented "There's a period going past at the moment that may make us look as though we're in fashion." In another interview, he stated "I don't like to be associated with them (New Romantics). The attitudes are so very different." Of Japan's fashion sense, Sylvian said "For them (New Romantics), fancy dress is a costume. But ours is a way of life. We look and dress this way every day.^"
Similarly, the electronic duo Soft Cell also denied any connection to the New Romantic scene. In an interview published in January 1984, keyboardist Dave Ball reflected back on their first year of success (1981) and stated "At this time we were linked to the whole New Romantics thing, but we were never a part of that. It was just a trendy London club thing with Steve Strange."