Function at the Junction

The annual Sunset Junction Street Fair may be one of L.A.’s most impressive gatherings of fashion tribes. Held this past weekend along a strip of Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake, it was a parade of the tattooed, pierced and dreadlocked demonstrating the fine art of getting dressed.

The two-day affair began 22 years ago as a modest block party to help alleviate tension in the diverse neighborhoods of Echo Park, Silver Lake and Los Feliz, especially between gays and gangs. This year, there were whirling carnival rides, booths selling everything from roasted corn to bondage gear, and musical sets by headliners Sonic Youth and Chaka Khan.

But the real entertainment wasn’t on the stage; it was on the street as Goths, punks, leather-bound gays, hippies, frat boys and fairy girls strutted around peacock-like--proof that there’s more to our homogenous Gap khaki, Nike running-shoe-wearing society after all.

In this enlightened age, when designers no longer have the power to make women change the length of their hems from season to season, it’s tempting to believe that fashion is dead.

But the sartorial circus of a street fair reminds us that clothes are still a form of self-expression for those who care enough to speak the language.