Awful Photos of Good Outfits at The 1975 in Pо̄neke

10 years on from their first album, the 1975 has re-emerged from their Tumblr era to plague TikTok instead. And speaking to the fans as they stood in line –  some for 24 hours before the doors even opened – it was clear that a whole new generation had fallen for their sad boy synth and meticulously planned stage antics (not derogatory). 

The mammoth crowd showed up like a monochrome monolith over the city and swarmed Pōneke’s TSB arena. Gloomy black fits aside, the mood was fucking delightful. 

I took myself, a previous fangirl guilty of hand-writing Matty Healy fanfiction in my teens, (he was a vampire, only I could save him), a resistant best friend who loudly argued with Healy's stage banter from the back of the arena, and my poorly functioning iPhone to snap pics of fans and ask them why they chose their outfits. 

MIKA 

“I'm a musician, follow my Spotify, lowkey plug, and I want to look like a silly little clown slut.”

LUKE AND SAHARA 

LUKE: “This is a group outfit that my friends are all wearing, they're up at the front but I'm stuck back here.”

SAHARA: “So I’m from Dunedin and I bought this Pig Suit top I'm wearing here today. She's a Māori designer that lives in Melbourne. Basically, I’m just here to spend all my money.” 

IZZY, KATE AND MAYA

KATE:  “I feel like I'm at a concert to have a good time and so I’m wearing what's comfortable.”

MAYA: “I'm in my Matty outfit.”

IZZY: “I'm also in a Matty outfit too, very original.”

SHAKAIA AND ELLA 

ELLA: “I wanted to do the suit and tie look but a little different, so not the white shirt, not the black tie, but still a suit and tie. So I’ve got this cropped denim jacket that I wear all the time and a tie that I got from the shop. I needed some platform shoes to see over the top of everyone.”

SHAKAIA: “Same basis, I wanted to do a suit and tie but wanted to mismatch the tie and whatnot. I also bleached my eyebrows for this.”

VICE: “I used to bleach my eyebrows and you end up with that salt and pepper brow.”

SHAKAIA: “Yeah it's kind of like frosted tips for eyebrows.” 

AMELIA 

“I wore this because it's very Tumblr-era 1975.”

FAYE AND JULIA

FAYE: “I decided to wear what I'm wearing because it was the best thing that I could find in my wardrobe that was all black. And also everyone's wearing a button down shirt kind of vibe, so I wanted to also wear a button down shirt.”

JULIA: “I dressed like this because I was like, how do I most make myself look like a 12 year old boy. And this was it.”

GEORGIA, LAURA AND CHARLIE 

GEORGIA: “I’m wearing a petticoat. Classic 1975 lyrics, guns hidden under our petticoats.”

LAURA “I think fashion is subjective and I think we should all just rock what we like, and this is what I like.”

CHARLIE: “I'm wearing what I'm wearing because it's comfortable. All my friends hype me up in it. I feel sexy, I feel myself, I feel beautiful and empowered. Especially with my friends, because they give me the most love.” 

JADE AND FLEUR 

JADE: “I’m wearing this because I am moving on Saturday and it was the only thing that I could pick up at the top of my moving bag, so nothing special.”

FLEUR: “I'm wearing this because I really liked it.” 

VICE: “I feel like you stand out a lot from everyone else, was that on purpose?” 

FLEUR: “No, I just don't own anything black. I'm very colourful.”

HATTIE, MAXIME AND ROSE 

HATTIE: “I'm wearing red so that Matty Healy will kiss me.”

MAXIME: “I’m wearing clothes from op shops and from my ex-girlfriend. That's all I have to say on the matter.”

ROSE: “This is a brand new shirt that I got from an op shop on the way back from Auckland.”

Rachel Barker is a writer / producer at VICE NZ in Aotearoa.