As one of the last remaining 2010s subcultures to not be put through the cultural ringer, steampunk should be set to make a return in our nostalgia economy, but why hasn’t it?
The hashtag #steampunk currently has 460 million views on TikTok, so there’s clearly a growing interest, with users showing off images of coal-powered flying boats and get-ready-with-me’s featuring period-appropriate attire such as bustles, corsets and petticoats, not to mention accessories spanning clocks, cogs, parasols and aviation goggles.
But, aside from an (apparently) promising online presence, the subculture has yet to take on any noticeable cultural relevance, bar the occasional nod by PC Music affiliates Dorian Electra and umru.
Steampunk was first coined by writer K.W. Jeter in 1987 to describe a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates 19th-century aesthetics and retrofuturist technology inspired by the sort of fictional machines you’d find in an HG Wells or Jules Verne novel.
But the term now retroactively refers to many works of fiction created as far back as the 1950s. For example, steampunk imagery can be seen in films such as Hayao Miyazaki’s Future Boy Conan (1978) and Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986), which imagine a fantastical version of old industrial Europe inhabited by airships, air pirates and steam-powered robots.
Yet, as far as the mainstream goes, steampunk doesn’t exist – and if it does, it’s considered deeply uncool, triggering the same eye-rolling disdain as the mention of Disney adults, electro-swing and trilbies.
Synonymous with middle-aged couples in nondescript British towns, barbershop quartets and Doctor Who enthusiasts, there’s a sincerity to the subculture that has yet to pass the threshold into irony.
