Maya Al Zaben— The last thing I wrote for this article was an introduction. I couldn’t settle on a title: DIY or DIE or KILL YOUR IDOLS (I’ll get to both later). Both intense (as fuck), both provocative (as fuck), and both violently tied to the essence of punk as a movement, fashion era and language style. Maybe the most punk thing I could do was write this piece backwards—and aggressively (apologies to my conservative Arab mother)—start with the conclusion, then the body and end with the intro. Anti-structure, somewhat disruptive (to me and my editors) and exactly in line with what I’m (we are*–collective language, always) writing about: punk as protest.

Punk begins with a firm “NO”—rejecting how things are done and refusing to carry on business as usual. On the mildest end of the punk spectrum, I think of my 2025 resolution to say “no” more often as a former people pleaser. Punk? Not punk enough. Like when John Lennon returned the MBE that Queen Elizabeth II awarded to The (non- punk) Beatles in 1965, sending it back four years later in protest against England’s participation in the Vietnam War. Sean Ono Lennon called it the most punk thing his father ever did. Punk? Not punk enough.

Let’s take it back to the 1970s. The origins of punk itself were born from protest—political corruption in both the United States and the United Kingdom. In the UK, Margaret Thatcher’s neoliberal policies affected working- class communities while at the same time in the US, people were disillusioned after the Vietnam War and the controversial Watergate scandal.

Since I was born 30+ years after these socio-economic tragedies, I stumbled into punk as a child through music and fashion instead (go figure). Still though it wasn’t through the gritty rebellion of the Sex Pistols (I am an antichrist…) or the radical designs of fashion designer Vivienne Westwood (yet), whose tartan bondage pants and sex-obsessed t-shirts defined punk (high) fashion as we know it. It was Adam Lambert’s smudged eyeliner on American Idol and Avril Lavigne’s neckties that became my entry point to the world of “NO”. (Only after writing this sentence did I realize how whiteness shaped punk’s mainstream narrative).

But punk isn’t just a sound or a look—it’s praxis, not just aesthetic. Ripped clothing, black attire (unity), nails and needles, and safety pins are fashion statements, but more than that they are accessories of protection against the system—anti-consumerist objects crafted from whatever is available during times of global strife. Essentially, punk as praxis means that rebellion isn’t commodified material culture but rather a lived experience.

Kill your IDOLS

The phrase “kill your idols” captures one of punk’s most important principles: no one is above critique, not even those who inspire you. Fashion designer and Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren once told Vogue in April 1986 that punk was “like a heap of rubbish waiting to be set alight. It only takes one person to throw the match.” Punk’s fire isn’t about blind destruction but rather about using that match to force reinvention. Punk demands accountability from its heroes and challenges its own history to avoid stagnation (symbolic victories over material change) or hypocrisy. After all, 70s punk was a response to said political and economic stagnation.

Vivienne Westwood, for example, remains one of punk’s most beloved figures, yet her commercial success and mainstream embrace have elicited debates about whether her work has strayed from its anti-establishment roots in favor of couture that only caters to the 0.0001% of our privileged world. Punk doesn’t shy away from asking difficult questions, even of its legends: Can rebellion survive within a capitalist framework? How do we reconcile the commodification of a movement born out of resistance? To kill your idols is to commit to constant self-interrogation and interrogation of those we love most.

Punk zines like Punk Planet (1994-2007) upheld this principle through blunt and confrontational writing, questioning not only society but also the punk movement itself. Articles like “Creative People Need to Question How They May Be Prostituting Their Talents and Who Their Pimp May Be” (March 2003) directly asks creative individuals to question not just how they create, but who ultimately benefits from their labor. The piece urges readers to ensure their work remains a reflection of their values rather than a product of capitalism and systemic compromise. The raw and aggressive language mirrors punk’s wardrobe choices: unapologetic/ (organized) chaos.

Do-it-Yourself or DIE

I can’t remember the last time I DIY’d anything myself—- I’m terrible with crafts (this is why I write), but in the punk movement DIY is more than just what you can do with your hands. It’s the belief that you don’t need permission, funding, or validation to create or express yourself or the society you want to live in. In punk, if you want a “free society”, you have to DIY it. To embrace punk is to create your own world with YOUR hands, your voice–and rage. To QUESTION. To REBUILD. And to RESIST.

Fashion as Protest Armor

Historically, punks were always raiding thrift shops for affordable items they could modify. Spikes and leather are used as a protective shield against hostility in protests. They create a sense of distance between the “punk” and the “other.” Leather or denim jackets are wearable manifestos– and patches or hand- painted graphics showcase allegiances to personal philosophies. Combat boots are a grounding defense that suggest the wearer is ready for confrontation or resistance. Mohawks and liberty spikes acted as psychological armor: don’t fuck with me or else.

Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren (they worked together for decades) elevated this crummyish DIY ethic into high art. Their collections–“Pirates” (1981), “Punkature” (1982), and “Witches” (1983), etc. took traditional symbols of power and authority—corsets, military jackets….

When Punk meets Palestine

I met Romanian activist and punk fashion designer Bogdan Stefanescu at a Palestinian protest in Washington Square Park a few months ago—before I even knew I’d be writing an article with him as essentially the main character (so glad we stayed in touch). His mohawk and leather jacket, covered in spikes and images of revolutionary figures, made him unmistakably P-U- N-K. At 63, Bogdan embodied everything punk is supposed to be: “Punk is a fuck you in the face of oppressive society,” he told me. “It’s nonconformist, anti-institutional, and anti- corporate. Punk pisses a lot of people off, but that’s how you know you’re doing something right.”

Why Punk still matters

The punk movement continues to evolve globally even as trends in political and fashion values shift. It’s cool as fuck. It is not accepting the world as it is. It is a commitment to creating something better. And most importantly it is building community in a legislative era that seeks to divide. QUESTION. REBUILD. RESIST.