Fools Rush In

Whenever I'm feeling worry for myself, I remember that Annabella Lwin, the lead singer of Bow Wow Wow, was fourteen years old when the band released this song. Bow Wow Wow was originally formed as a promotion tool for Vivienne Westwood's fashion line, which some might argue counts as child exploitation.

It's not that Vivienne Westwood didn't design remarkable clothing, because she did. More generally speaking, though, her role in the "punk movement" makes me uneasy. She took the superficial, aesthetic elements that characterized a lot of clothing worn by punks and introduced them to the mainstream, effectively creating "punk fashion." Maybe people would equate punk with clothing even if Vivienne Westwood hadn't existed--in fact, I'm sure they would. But I what I really want to say is that I can't decide if she was a forward-thinking, practical determinist who cashed in on an opportunity, or whether she was a capitalist appropriator (or maybe both?).

To conclude this brief discussion of things I know nothing about, here is Bow Wow Wow.

- "Fools Rush In" by Bow Wow Wow, from Your Cassette Pet (1980)