Steampunk Soars Into Mainstream

From literature to fashion to music, the attraction to Steampunk is growing

I’m new to Steampunk, but I can see now why the Victorian-era, sci-fi genre is bursting out of its sub-culture status.

From literature to fashion to music, the attraction to Steampunk is growing.

The most obvious signs are the gears, goggles, leather and lace as characterized in the late 1800’s but there is more to it.

At Comic-Con 2012, the Steampunk panel was among the more popular ones, drawing a crowd of more than 500 fans.

The panel included some of the leading Steampunk creators.

“It’s exploding into the mainstream because people love the aesthetic,” says Anina Bennett.

Get more coverage in our special section Comic-Con 2012.

The late 1800s were a “formative time which resonates” today.

Films like The Fabulous World of Jules Verne in the 50s are among the films mentioned as having inspired Steampunk which originated in the 80s.

But the most prominent form of this genre is Steampunk fashion and there were stunning examples of it in the audience.

“I look good in it,” says Neya Pasley of Oceanside, outfitted in a black flouncy bell-shaped skirt, feathered hat and silhouette bodice.

Pasley added she likes “the whimsical feel of it."

Steampunk writer Kaja Foglio says she loves the science from the Victorian era, the “telescope, the chains. Gorgeous.”

And then there is the iconic corset a topic that drew laughs and the sense that Steampunk is not an inexpensive interest.

Writer Robin Thorsen (The Guild) loves the corset because it “gives me a waist” and “makes your clothes look prettier.”

One fan asked whether corsets made you hungry, to which the panel replied to a room full of laughter that it makes you ravenous after it was removed.

A good corset can cost as much as $2,000, one panelist replied.

Bennett says her love of Steampunk is fueled by the “willingness to share information and help each other out. There is no snobbery” in Steampunk.

From movies like the recent “Sherlock Holmes,” to Steampunk music more thing are getting the “steampunk sheen” as she calls it.

What was once a subculture is now becoming more mainstream, and I am willing to explore more on that.
 

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