Modernists (Mods) were originally grouped into a subculture characterized by a smart stylish appearance, focused on fashion and music, the riding of Italian scooters, and a liking for jazz, R&B, and soul music, partying non-stop (the original ravers), anti-establishment against ‘The Establishment’ (the original punks), a ‘rebellion based on consuming pleasures’.
The Mod scene developed in the early 1960s when British teenagers began to reject the ‘dull, timid, old-fashioned, and uninspired’ British culture, with its repressed and class-obsessed mentality (Terry Rawlings). Modernists aimed at being ‘cool, neat, sharp, hip, and smart’ by embracing ‘all things exciting and streamlined’. Mod’s aesthetic has influenced art, film and fashion, indeed, every aspect of British culture.
This durable scene now interlinks several subcultures; mods, scooterists, skinheads, suedeheads, rude boys, and ska who share a love of fashion and music genres such as northern soul, ska, rocksteady, reggae, 2-Tone ska, together with jazz/funk/R&B.
There is an analogy between the factors contributing to rise of the Modernists with the current story and ethos behind the craft beer revolution against the large beer producing multinationals. Like the early Modernists customising clothes by combining and reinventing different fashions the craft beer producers are pushing boundaries to create a wide range of new and exciting modern beers! Modernist and inclusive.
