Rock and Roll Style: Costumes and Props in QUADROPHENIA

Driven by the music of the Who’s classic rock opera from which it takes its name, Franc Roddam’s QUADROPHENIA is an exhilarating expression of youthful rebellion and a quintessential snapshot of the defiant, drug-fueled mod subculture of early-1960s London. In this edition of Observations on Film Art, Professor Jeff Smith examines the very specific role that clothing and fashion play in the film—how they served as cultural and class signifiers at a time when proclaiming one’s group identity (are you a mod, or a rocker?) was a matter of existential importance.