1990s Culture
To the extent that it had any real meaning, "Cool Britannia" referred to the transient fashionable London scene, 1990s bands such as Blur and Oasis, fashion designers, the Young British Artists and magazines. Cool Britannia also summed up the mood in Britain during the mid-1990s Britpop movement, when there was a resurgence of distinctive British rock and pop music from bands such as Oasis, Blur, Suede, Supergrass, Pulp, The Verve and Elastica, as well as the Spice Girls. The renewal in British pride (reinforced by the strong and uninterrupted growth of the British economy from 1993), was symbolised in iconic imagery such as Noel Gallagher's Union Flag guitar and Geri Halliwell's skimpy Union Jack dress, worn at the 1997 Brit Awards. The Euro 96 football tournament, hosted in England, is also considered an event that encouraged a resurgence of patriotism, particularly in England.
In March 1997 Vanity Fair published a special edition on Cool Britannia with Liam Gallagher and Patsy Kensit on the cover with the title 'London Swings! Again!'. Figures in the issues included Alexander McQueen, Damien Hirst, Graham Coxon and the editorial staff of Loaded. By 1998 The Economist was commenting that "many people are already sick of the phrase," and senior Labour politicians, such as Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, seemed embarrassed by its usage. By 2000 - after the decline of Britpop as a tangible genre- it was being used mainly in a mocking or ironic way.
Similar terms have been used for the phenomena in Wales and Scotland; "Cool Cymru" and "Cool Caledonia" respectively.
Read more about this topic: Cool Britannia
Famous quotes containing the word culture:
“As the traveler who has once been from home is wiser than he who has never left his own doorstep, so a knowledge of one other culture should sharpen our ability to scrutinize more steadily, to appreciate more lovingly, our own.”
—Margaret Mead (1901–1978)