Revolution on Carnaby Street (part 2)

In 1967 the hippie youth movement, with it's ethos based on love, tolerance, a connection with nature and an affinity for psychedelic drugs, spread around the world. Hippie has it's roots in the Bohemian culture, much like the "swinging London"archetype. In many ways similar, but fundamentally different, the hippie movement proved to be the death knell for Carnaby Street.

The "Human Be-In" was a social event that occurred in San Francisco and New York City in January of 1967. Many consider this to be the event that popularized the hippie movement, as it was the prelude to the famous "Summer of love,"bringing the counterculture to public awareness and introducing many young people to drugs such as LSD and Cannabis. This sparked a massive political and cultural shift that had a huge effect in Britain as well as America.

As I discussed in my previous post, the Carnaby Street "scene" was heavily based on music and bands that were popular at the time. The bands has a symbiotic relationship with the shops - when the Beatles wore garments bought from Lord Kitchener's Valet or Merc, they fueled the public's interest in fashion, drawing them to the scene and to spend money, and in return the scene was what promoted the music. When the ideals and intentions of the music changed, so did the entire scene. With the summer of love in full swing and social taboos becoming more acceptable, (free love, casual drug use,) the scene in London changed.

The boutiques of Carnaby embraced the shifting trends. Bands such as the Beatles were experimenting with a new psychedelic sound, and had confided in their guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Interest in the middle east had increased, "Everyone was chanting Hare Krishna," recalls Henry Moss. It made good business sense to capitalize on the new wave. Soon "swinging London" was out and hippie was in. Overnight fashions changed, as the shops of Carnaby placed orders for Afghan coats, kaftans and beads.

Things couldn't have been better for business. With new stores opening in New York and Carnaby more popular than ever, the proprietors rested on their laurels. "It was a non-stop party," says Robert Orbach, owner of "I was Lord Kitchener's Valet," "Everybody was walking around going 'Peace man!' Even my bank manager would have a joint with us, and the next morning I'd go in and ask him for money."

Drugs crept into the scene. In 1967 nobody knew how dangerous drugs such as LSD could be, and nobody thought they might be addictive. The summer of love and the festivals that took place were full of drug use that spilled over to the trendy spots in London such as the Marquee, arguably Carnaby's life blood. "When the festivals ended and it started getting to Christmas, it was beginning to get pretty dark," remarks Tommy Calder, founder of Immediate Records, "by the start of 68', we weren't having fun anymore, we were a business. We became the corporations. And we were doing so many drugs, we had to be serious about it."

It wasn't long before mainstream society began reacting against the hippie movement, and all that it was associated with. Artists such as Donovan and The Rolling Stones were targeted in a new anti-drugs policy, and were busted for smoking cannabis. On top of this, the Vietnam war was having a effect on the younger generation. A lot of American teenagers were being drafted, and essentially going off to die. This was at a time when political unrest was high. The people who were originally part of Carnaby were starting to get a little older, and the scene began to run out of steam. People began dying of drug overdoses, the Beatles had broken up, and the novelty had gone. Lost in the hysteria of business, the shop owners of Carnaby found themselves at a loss; in order to maximize profit they had created inferior merchandise, and many corporate backed "copy cat" businesses offering mass produced replications of iconic Carnaby fashions had sprung up. The public were disillusioned and disenfranchised. "If you eat too much candy, you're gonna get sick," remarks Garry Leeds, drummer for The Walker Brothers, "that will bring everything to a halt."

In October 1972 Carnaby street was pedestrianised, prohibiting all traffic. By this time, almost all of the original stores had closed or changed hands. There was a lot of inferior imported merchandise available, nobody made their own garments for sale anymore, and the whole ethos had evaporated. "The bubble had burst," recalls Tom Salter, proprietor of Gear. "It was like getting a boil lanced. It was very different."

Now if you visit Carnaby street you will find it to be quite different. It's been 42 years since the street's hayday, and although it is still lined with clothes shops, they are mostly all corporate-run international businesses that you can find in any city, such as Ben Sherman and Hugo Boss. While the spirit of the street may be gone, a grim lesson is to be taken from the events that took place. In any subculture or counterculture, it is important to cherish your ideals any not allow your movement to become too big or too popular, and not to rely on it for a source of income. If you see your ideologies as a way of profiting from those who think like you, and if you are successful, there will inevitably be more like you who will attempt the same thing. It is possible for something to become so big it collapses in on itself, and while Carnaby and the swinging 60's movement is a good example of how a few elements can create a subculture and how it can be marketed and refined, it is also an example of how too much formalization can be the death of a movement.