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The casual subculture is a subsection of football culture that is typified by hooliganism and the wearing of expensive designer clothing[1][2][3][4][5] (known as "clobber"). The subculture originated in the United Kingdom in the early 1980s when many hooligans started wearing designer clothing labels and expensive sportswear such as Stone Island, CP Company, Lyle & Scott, Lacoste, Sergio Tacchini, Fila, Hackett, ellesse, Napapijri, Burberry, Fred Perry, etc. in order to avoid the attention of police and to intimidate rivals.[citation needed] They did not wear club colours, so it was easier to infiltrate rival groups and to enter pubs. Some casuals have worn clothing items similar to those worn by mods.[citation needed] Casuals have been portrayed in films and television programmes such as ID, The Firm, The Football Factory, and Green Street.[citation needed] The documentary Casuals: The Story of the Legendary Terrace Fashion featuring Pat Nevin, Peter Hooton and Gary Bushell amongst others is about the fashion that started in the late 70s and into the 1980s.[6][7]
The designer clothing and fashion aspect of the casual subculture began in the mid-to-late 1970s. One well documented precursor was the trend of Liverpool youths starting to dress differently from other football fans – in Peter Storm jackets, straight-leg jeans and Adidas trainers.[8] Liverpool F.C. fans were the first British football fans to wear continental European fashions, which they picked up while following their teams at matches in Europe during their run of strong performance in the UEFA Cup and European Cup in the 1970s and 80s.[9]
The other documented precursor, according to Colin Blaney, was a subculture known as Perry Boys, which originated in the mid-1970s as a precursor to the casuals. The Perry Boys subculture consisted of Manchester football hooligans styling their hair into a flick and wearing sportswear, Fred Perry shirts and Dunlop Green Flash trainers.[10]
