Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore (1999)

Mark Leckey addresses the sense of abundance in contemporary culture. In his films, sculptures, and installations, the artist has often assumed the role of alchemist by translating objects and images into new mediums and endowing them with novel interpretations. In the film Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore (1999), Leckey spliced altered video footage from dance clubs with an amalgamation of sounds to examine countercultural nightlife, revealing the poignant interpersonal energy among and socio-economic aspirations of its revelers. The video is sourced from footage of British clubs that spans trends in fashion and attitude from the 1970s to the 1990s. Despite the differences among the partygoers, Leckey’s film unites the disparate cultural moments in a frenzy of youthful, euphoric ritual. Tongue in cheek, the title alludes to Italian fashion house Fiorucci, wildly popular during the artist’s youth in the late ’70s. Although dress and taste evolve through Leckey’s edited juxtapositions, brand allegiance and material symbolism are undeniable constants in an otherwise fleeting remix of three decades of dance culture.