Generation Z’s emergence and arrival in the world of work has been an issue of heated debate over the past few years. While most research and studies have been focusing on the ethos of work of this spirited generation, however, more attention should be given to their fashionable affinity for the workplace. It isn’t easy to imagine that this highly creative generation, which breaks from traditional organizational structures and conformity, isn’t also expressing this visually.
Through social media, in particular particularly, in particular, “quiet quitting” – the notion of not stepping beyond the limits of one’s self as a professional is being promoted, and TikTok videos that have been converted to corporate phrases like “Please feel free to contact me” are viewed by millions of people every day. The Trend research institution FashionSnoops experts are monitoring an upcoming fashion shift. They are predicting a forthcoming microtrend (in)suitable for work known as the Office Punk.
Gen Z breaks with workwear and reimagines it.
The office punk style named by the trend analysts of Fashion Snoops still needs an official internet name and, consequently, no hashtag on social media. This is precisely where it is being promoted. While the trend was first seen on catwalks, the younger generation is being influenced by the vast and seemingly insurmountable environmental, social, economic, and political crises of our time, allowing the style to flourish.
“Generation Z is under the influence of the ‘poly crisis’, which fosters an attitude of collective fear,” according to the analyst of trends Peter Kecskes. “As a result, elements of rebellious subcultures like punk and grunge are reappearing in mainstream culture.” From these sentiments and currents in the aesthetics of today comes Office Punk, a trend that, as its name implies, is rebelling against and reinvents the stereotyped office wear. Unsurprisingly, this fashion has also been a significant influencer on the catwalk of the bachelor’s-degree collections of Institut Francais de la Mode (IfM). However, designers such as those of the Berlin team responsible for Richert Beil or Namesake, which three brothers founded as a tribute to their dad, are taking note of the trend.
Although they may not be interested in the traditional “9-to-5 job”, Gen Z isn’t altogether eschewing the hallmarks of a conventional office style and instead creates their style. Oxford shirts and tie-dye are no longer required, but they’re well-known for their kind and associated associations. “The office punk aesthetic is characterised by a mix of allusions to office attire and punk style,” explained the FashionSnoops fashion expert.
Office Punk rejects conventions, as the namesake punk movement in the 1970s did, and reinterprets elements and the DIY mindset of the style that has been thriving as a response to social and political ills that were prevalent at the time. “Among the youth, DIY design still dominates, but amidst all the chaos and catharsis, we are moving away from cute crochet and granny knits and towards a harder, punkier deconstruction that popularises raw hems, rips and studs,” Kecskes continued.
Fashion designers Dilara Findikoglu and David Koma at London Fashion Week offer the most striking examples of this. While Koma’s mix of vinyl trousers, tie, and high-necked top is cool enough to get noticed in the workplace possibly, Findikoglu’s unusual school uniform accentuates the “punk” in the name of the style.
Office elements are paired with punk.
Regarding optics, Office Punk relies on classic tricks and combines classic pieces with various unusual and sometimes contradictory elements. “It’s about a pencil skirt in pinstripes with a leather fetish bra or a leather button-down shirt with tailored suit trousers,” Kecskes summarized down as the fundamentals of the style. He said the mix of “highs and lows of style” is well-balanced, particularly when it comes to items with a coordinated color palette.
The style’s most important aspects are the clothes worn by office workers regularly. Biker blazers, tie-downs, buttons, pencil skirts, and pleated trousers are an essential part of office punk. However, they are rediscovered in their material selection and punk-inspired attitude. Trend analysts point out that diverse mixtures of clothing and materials spur interest in office-punk fashions.
“With Office Punk, we dare to do the unexpected with tailored trousers in high-shine leather or exciting tops in pinstripe fabrics that you usually only see in traditional tailoring,” he said. “It’s about throwing the rules out the window and being rebellious with our design choices – an attitude that is very much in the spirit of Gen Z.”
In its simplest version, office punk can be described as a new approach to tailoring, whereas in the extreme, fashion is an opportunistic criticism of the fashion industry. Particular designers are also dipping their toes into this area but taking it slow. Mainly, the combination of shirts that have ties and hoodies, like for French creator ANDAM Award winner LGN Louis Gabriel Nouchi, or pencil skirts that have messy hair or apparent tights and cardigans for Miu Miu, are simple ways to introduce the trend that may even be seen at the office, at least on “Casual Friday.”