THE MINISTRY OF STEAMPUNK
Dieselpunk & The DecoDance
Dieselpunk
Just as the word ‘Steampunk’ was first coined in 1987 to describe a genre of fiction, the word ‘Dieselpunk’ was first coined as part of the marketing strategy for a role-playing game in 2001. Like its slightly older cousin, Dieselpunk has become something much bigger and broader over time, a mixture of style and counter-culture, based around the time period from the Jazz age up to the 1950’s.
Dieselpunk takes inspiration from the styles of the period but mixes in more modern and whimsical elements, rather than attempting to slavishly reproduce them. It has never been restricted to formal dress or military wear, taking just as much inspiration from the Art Deco period and all manner of other styles from the 1920’s through to the 1950’s.
​​So time-wise Dieselpunk follows on from Steampunk, but what follows on from Dieselpunk? Two other genres take over from where Dieselpunk leaves off. Firstly there's Atompunk, which is based around World War II, the invention of television, the atomic, jet and space ages. Then there's Cyberpunk which runs from around the 1960s onwards, including elements of low life, high tech, articficial intellegence and so on - but that will be the subject for another page.
Decadence
The style and inspiration for Dieselpunk comes partly from the Diesel era, but also from the made-up word 'Decodence'.
This is a blend (portmanteau) of 'Deco' referring to the Art Deco period and 'Decadence' referring to a state of decay with low moral standard and behaviour, but also extravagance, luxury, self-indulgence and a taste for the exotic.
Dieselpunk costuming
Dieselpunk costuming (not to be confused with 'what to wear to the DecoDance') is often thought to be more dirty, grimy and edgy that Steampunk costuming. Weaponry is popular. Military styles work well but are not essential, although the simple lines and cut of military uniforms may find their way into other garments.
The music of Dieselpunk
One of the great things about Dieselpunk is the music of the reference era. Whereas Steampunk music is partly ‘music that steampunks like’ and partly music that conjures up the steam era through carefully created lyrics, ideas and sounds, the diesel era was when much of the most popular music of all time was created, including jazz, cabaret, swing, ragtime, blues and big band music, many of which styles are as fresh and exciting today as they ever were.
The Asylum DecoDance
Whilst the word Decodence was coined some years ago as a mixture of [Art] Deco and Decadence, the word ‘DecoDance’ was dreamed up at a Ministry of Steampunk New Year event in Leicester a few years ago, as the name for our Dieselpunk-inspired music evening event at the Asylum Steampunk Festival.
DecoDance takes as its inspiration the styling of the 1920’s through to the 1950’s and couples this with an evening of fabulous music that reminds us of bygone days, but with a punked-up modern twist.
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Saturday night at Asylum XV will be the 6th DecoDance. The first two took place at the County Assembly Rooms and the pictures below are from those events.
DecoDance 3, 4 and 5 took place at The Drill where again the music was fabulous, and the audience danced the night away. The images below are from 2022. Some images of Alice Strange's performance at DecoDance 2024 are on the AXV Saturday night page. More from 2023 and 2024 will be coming soon.
But what to wear?
DecoDance is one of the easiest evening events to dress for as there are no hard rules. You can come along in whatever you are wearing during the day on Saturday, or wear something inspired by the 20's through to the 50's. You can wear something with a military twist (but no weapons please) or straight comfy 'steampunk light' attire.
But remember, comfy footwear is probably a good idea if you hope to take to the dance floor (although the host of the last 3 DecoDances has completely failed to adhere to that very sensible recommendation himself).