FASHION : Behind The Scenes : A Brave Few Souls Stand Out at ‘Rave New World’ Techno Concert

Proof that there are kids in Orange County who care about individual style surfaced at the Coach House last Friday night, when the sit-down concert hall made a rare exception and allowed people to dance for its “Rave New World” show.

The live techno concert featured performances by Cybersonik, the Prodigy and Moby. The mostly under-age crowd (as evidenced by the large black X marked on the backs of their hands at the door) took advantage of the rarely uncovered dance floor throughout the night.

Because this wasn’t your typical joint for a rave, this was certainly not a typical rave-style event. As anticipated, there were skinny folk decked out in fat duds, with labels such as Fresh Jive, Split, SMP and Twenty-Four Seven prominently showing. Several teen boys favored the flat-bottom, old Adidas shoe, recently reissued from two decades ago, worn hidden under long, elephant-leg cut jeans.

Females mixed retro with grunge: military or Dr. Marten boots, long skirts, hooded flannel tops and 1930s-inspired velvet hats. A few borrowed from ‘70s funk and mixed it with oversized elements. Touches of the ‘70s also appeared in the foil fabrics and long hair some males wore.

A few young ladies replaced their purses with bright-colored lunch boxes. One wanna-be Lolita took the kindergarten look a step further, donning a romper dress and Mary Jane shoes probably more fitting for her toddler sibling. So much for looking like big sister!