Steampunk style is far from unified, with various sub-subcultures such as dieselpunk, piratepunk and steampunk/goth each adding their own twist to the theme. However, the basic principle of steampunk – a loving, deconstructionist retrospective of early industrial technology – holds true in most variations of steampunk design.
Cogs, Gears, Wheels and Levers - Steampunk and Deconstruction
Watch cogs are perhaps the most commonly-seen steampunk icon, representing not only the steampunk love of deconstructing tangible, textural technology but the focus on time which is a major theme of steampunk art and literature. Just as steampunk figuratively “time travels” by incorporating design elements from several different eras in a modern setting, using watch gears, movements and faces as art figuratively takes time apart and puts it back together again to create a thing of beauty.
Copper, Brass and Iron – Steampunk’s Love of the Real
Steampunk is all about tangibility. While steampunk delights in technology, it is not etherwaves and lasers but valves, pistons, tubes and wheels – heavy, large, textural objects – which make up steampunk style. In keeping with the Victorian mad scientist theme, steampunk accessories are made of heavy, durable, natural materials. Copper, brass and iron are common features, both for period-accurate pieces and created steampunk designs.
Glass, Leather and Wood
Other natural, old-timey materials include glass, leather and wood. Sara Brumfield, author of The Steampunk Home design blog, is passionate about her love of dark woods for conveying a steampunk style. Leather chests and suitcases, pieces of laboratory glass and Victorian bookcases and wunderkbinets are common features of steampunk homes.
Victorian Design Elements in Steampunk
Steampunk can take inspiration from World War II or even the roaring twenties, but “traditional” steampunk takes its cue from the Victorian age – particularly its fashion, scientific developments and science fiction. Quirky takes on Victoriana include mini top hats, which women wear as fascinators, and “steampunked” laptops and iPods.
The Victorian obsession with labelling and cataloguing nature is also reflected in steampunk. Wunderkabinets, old world maps and globes, framed insect collections scientific drawings are often featured in steampunk homes.
Early Machines in Steampunk
Dirigibles, hot air balloons, diving bells, penny-farthing bicycles, steam trains, analog computers, old-fashioned telephones, barometers, telescopes... any piece of early-industrial technology with lavish mechanisms is fair game for steampunkers.
Velvet and Lace – Steampunk Costumes
Victorian steampunk costumes tend to use high-quality fabric and mixed media. Textural elements such as corset lacing, lace, feathers, glass beads and Swarovski crystals are commonly liberally mixed together. Often industrial elements are added directly to the clothing – a bunch of rusty keys hanging from a belt, a skirt hem clipped up with a watch gear pin, or a wristcuff embellished with watch faces.
Steampunk Colours
Steampunk designs often use muted neutrals such as bronze, rust, cream and chocolate brown. This allows the bright metals and natural materials of steampunk pieces to shine. Dark red is a popular accent colour for steampunk rooms, which gothic steampunk uses liberal quantities of black. A few steampunkers combine black with hot pink, particularly for costumes.
A DIY Mentality
While innumerable merchants of steampunk-themed wares can be found online, a certain do-it-yourself mentality pervades steampunk circles. “Steampunking” modern equipment is still more or less DIY by necessity, and the elaborate costumes are often made by their wearers. With an understated emphasis on recycling, renovation and upcycling, steampunk is for the most part too eco-conscious to promote consumerism. The subculture also tends to attract engineers, who take delight in the challenge of constructing mechanical arms, helmets or wings.
Sarah Tennant - Sarah Tennant is a onetime English major who lives in New Zealand with her husband and two small children. Her interests range from ...
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