a person who regularly goes to raves.
Rave Culture
The rave scene started by the Acid House scene of the late 1980s. Acid House started the popularity of house music. House Music added a repetitive beat with elements of trance. Acid House has its origins in Chicago where the first supposed Acid House record was created.
A rave is a large dance party featuring performances by DJs and occasionally liveperformers playing electronic music, particularly electronic dance music (EDM). The music is amplified with a large, powerful sound reinforcement system, typically with large sub woofers to produce a deep bass sound. The music is accompanied by laser light shows, projected images, visual effects and fog machines. The word “rave” was first used in the late 1980s to describe the subculture that grew out of the acid house moveme
The underground get-together’s of acid-lovers were held in various unknown locations out of the cities – abandoned warehouses, old plants and parking lots. People used to get information about locations by calling a phone number. They dressed up, took their friends and went to be free and dance.
Raver Hairstyles
The typical raver hairstyle is to wear you hair in buns. This includes 'messy buns' and the most famous rave bun, the 'space buns'. These are two little tight buns on each side of your head, many 21st Century Music Icons have worn this hairstyle such as Miley Cyrus and Gwen Stefani.
Other ravers wear their hair in high bunches and ponytails. Plaits and braids are also popular with the rave scene.
Many Ravers like to change their hair to fluorescent colours such as pink and blue. This may just be in a few streaks of hair, or all over.
Raver Fashion and Accessories
Rave fashion included creating a whole look. It wasn't just about the clothing but the accessories and hair styling etc to. Clothing included wearing cropped tops, fluorescent colours and trippy prints. Many ravers tops central print was text of Acid and the iconic yellow smiley face.
Many Ravers wore bright coloured beaded accessories, in many colours including necklaces, bracelets and rings. Some ravers wore caps, and today a 2016 raver would wear a cap or bucket hat. Accessories such as bandannas and popped out lenses of fluorescent coloured glasses were also worn.
The 2016 Raver now would wear a fluorescent coloured block coloured zip jacket or an adidas zip jacket.
Rave fashion to me is all about comfort. You have to wear your outfit all night long, so must be comfy.
Raver Makeup
Rave makeup included also fluorescent colours. The main focus was on wearing paint. This came in different forms and shapes on the face, but mainly dots were used on the cheeks and under the eyes.
Bold lips and eyes were everything. Eyeshadow included many shades of different bold fluorescent colours in strips on each eye.Lip colour was always bold and mainly pinks were used.
Rave Music/ Icons
Rave music refers to the late 1980s and early 1990s delivery of house, techno, and acid house played at clubs and dance parties. This was one of the first booms of electronic dance music which started in Europe and expanded to North America shortly thereafter.
Rave music is generally considered happy and synthesizer-heavy. It's sound would later develop into drum and bass and jazzstep among other genres.
Miley Cyrus as recent rave icon
Gwen Stefani styled as raver
Rave Photographer
Dave Swindells
As acid house took control of the UK’s sound systems at the end of the 80s, photojournalist Dave Swindells found himself at the middle of a youth explosion. As Strut Records prepares to release This Ain’t Chicago: The Underground Sound of UK House & Acid 1987–1991 this month, Swindells recalls a pivotal night when clubbers took over the streets of central London for a spontaneous rave.
Rave inspired Fashion Collections
House of Holland Spring 2013
House of Hollands Spring 2013 collection reminds me of rave culture. This is due to the bold fluorescent trippy prints , the makeup and the accessories. The colours in this collection are bold, bright fluorescent colours.
Rave inspired photoshoots
ID magazine 1985 Patsy Kensit N0. 25
Features Patsy wearing a neon pink top, a messy, sweaty hairstyle and exaggerated eyeshadow and eyeliner. The ID cover combines this image and styling with bold fluorescent coloured text.
Exploring styling a look of a 'Raver'
These are my best collages from my visual sketchbook of Ravers.
