Heroin chic

For the My Dying Bride song, see34.788%...Complete.

Heroin chicis a style popularized in early-1990s fashionand characterized bypale skin,dark circlesunderneath the eyes,emaciatedfeatures,androgynyand stringy hair—all traits associated with abuse ofheroinor other drugs. American supermodelGia Carangiis remembered for being the originator of the trend.Heroin chic was partly a reaction against thehealthyand vibrant look of leading 1980s models such asCindy Crawford,Elle Macpherson,andClaudia Schiffer.A 1996 article in theLos Angeles Timesstated that the fashion industry had "anihilisticvision of beauty "that was reflective ofdrug addiction.

Kate Mossin a 1990sCalvin Kleinad

Background

At the time during which heroinchicemerged, the popular image of heroin was changing for several reasons. The price of heroin had decreased, and its purity had increased dramatically.In the 1980s, theAIDS epidemichad made injecting heroin with unclean needles increasingly risky.Available heroin had become more pure, and snorting became a more common mode of heroin use.These changes decreased the stigma surrounding the drug, allowing heroin to find a new market among the middle-class and the wealthy, in contrast to its previous base of the poor and marginalized.Gia Carangi,who some call the "first supermodel"is remembered for being the origin of the heroin chic trend.Heroin infiltrated pop culture through attention brought to addictions in the early 1990s. In film, the heroin chic trend in fashion coincided with a string of films throughout the 1990s—such asThe Basketball Diaries,Trainspotting,Kids,Permanent Midnight,andPulp Fiction—that examined heroin use and drug culture.

Grunge

Main article:Grunge

In the early 1990s, the rise of thegrungealternative rockmusic and subculture in Seattle brought media attention to the use of heroin by prominent grunge artists. In the 1990s, the media focused on the use of heroin by musicians in the Seattle grunge scene, with a 1992New York Timesarticle listing the city's "three principal drugs" as "espresso,beerand heroin "and a 1996 article calling Seattle's grunge scene the "...subculture that has most strongly embraced heroin".Tim Jonze fromThe Guardianstates that "...heroin had blighted the [grunge] scene ever since its inception in the mid-80s" and he argues that the "...involvement of heroin mirrors the self-hating, nihilistic aspect to the music"; in addition to the heroin deaths, Jonze points out thatStone Temple Pilots'Scott Weiland,as well asCourtney Love,Mark LaneganandEvan Dando"...all had their run-ins with the drug, but lived to tell the tale."A 2014 book stated that whereas in the 1980s, people used the "stimulant"cocaineto socialize and "...celebrate good times", in the 1990s grunge scene, the "depressant" heroin was used to "retreat" into a "cocoon" and be "...sheltered from a harsh and unforgiving world which offered...few prospects for...change or hope."

Leading grunge bandAlice in Chainshad a song "God Smack", which included the line "stick your arm for some real fun", a reference to injecting heroin.Seattle grunge musicians known to use heroin includedKurt Cobain,who was using the drug very frequently around the time of his death; "Andrew WoodofMother Love Boneoverdosed on heroin in 1990 ";"Stefanie Sargentof7 Year Bitchwho died of an overdose of the same opiate in 1992, along withLayne Staleyof Alice in Chains who publicly detailed his battles with heroin... ".Mike Starrof Alice in ChainsandJonathan MelvoinfromThe Smashing Pumpkinsalso died from heroin. After Cobain's death, his "...widow, singerCourtney Love,characterized Seattle as a drug mecca, where heroin is easier to get than in San Francisco or Los Angeles. "

Rise and fall

Thiswaifish,emaciated look was the basis of the 1993advertisingcampaign ofCalvin Kleinfor his perfumeObsessionfeaturingKate Moss.Film director and actorVincent Gallocontributed to the development of the image through his Calvin Klein fashion shoots.

The trend eventually faded, in part due to the heroin-related death of prominent fashion photographerDavide Sorrentiin 1997.JournalistAmy Spindlerdescribed Sorrenti's death as "like a small bomb going off", extinguishing public denial of heroin use in the fashion world. The termheroin chicitself was coined at Sorrenti's wake by editorIngrid Sischy,who commented: "This is heroin, this isn't chic. This has got to stop, thisheroin chic."After his death, Sorrenti's mother, Francesca Sorrenti, led a public campaign against the use of heroin in fashion, after which the promotion of heroin chic subsided.In 1999,Voguedubbed Brazilian supermodelGisele Bündchen"The Return of the Sexy Model" and the end of the heroin chic era.

Criticism and analysis

Heroin chic fashion drew much criticism and scorn, especially from anti-drug groups.Fashion designers, models such asKate MossandJaime King,and movies such asTrainspottingwere blamed for glamorizing heroin use. Then-U.S. presidentBill Clintoncondemned the look, calling it "destructive" and a "glorification of heroin".Other commentators denied that fashion images made drug use itself more attractive.Jacob Sullumwrote inReasonmagazine that "There is no reason to expect that people attracted to the look promoted by Calvin Klein and other advertisers... will also be attracted to heroin, any more than suburban teen-agers who wearbaggy pants and backward capswill end upshooting people from moving cars."

See also

• List of chics
• Kinderwhore
• Soft grunge
• The Heroine Sheiks