Hip Strips: Ave. A & Melrose Ave.

Text & Photos by Fred Berger

Ever the roving reporter, I often strolled the bohemian districts of cities across the continent, from Ave. A in the East Village of Lower Manhattan to Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood. These two bustling thoroughfares proved to be the most bountiful in terms of street style photography for photo essays in Propaganda Magazine.

This vertical Black & White photo depicts a black girl standing against a concrete wall on Ave. A in the East Village of Lower Manhattan in the Summer of 1984. Her name is Tracey. She is visible from the hips up and looks at the camera, with her right arm at her side and her left arm behind her back. She has a short spikey Mohawk hairstyle and wears a Bauhaus T-shirt. The shirt is printed with two large eyes with heavy makeup starring at the viewer, and the word Bauhaus in all capital letters appears above and below the eyes. Her only makeup is a touch of eyeliner and eyebrow pencil, and she doesn’t have any jewelry. Photo by Propaganda publisher and editor Fred Berger.

Tracey pauses for a photo on Ave. A in the summer of 1984. With a minimalist look consisting of a Mohawk hairstyle and a Bauhaus T-shirt, she exemplifies early goth’s punk influences. (Photo & Copyright © by Fred Berger)

Ave. A was notable for its counterculture clubs, particularly the hardcore punk A7 and the queer chic Pyramid, while Melrose boasted cool shops such as Vinyl Fetish Records and the Retail Slut rock boutique. They were the proving grounds of the hippest trends and fashions of the punk, goth, industrial, and alt gay persuasion.

This vertical Black & White photo depicts two punk boys on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood in the spring of 1986. They’re leaning against a boarded-up doorway of a drab concrete wall. The swarthy Latino boy (Giz) is standing and the pale Anglo boy (Dom) is sitting, and they’re posed so their bodies are intertwined in an almost surrealistic kind of way. They both have medium length hair, but Giz’s is lighter and teased and Dom’s is darker and spikey. Giz wears a black leather motorcycle jacket, white dress shirt, dark slacks, and leopard spot creepers. Dom wears a black vest, a dark loose-fitting shirt, black pants, and black patent leather ankle boots. Giz looks down at Dom with a slight grin, and Dom faces the camera with a placid expression. Photo by Propaganda publisher and editor Fred Berger.

Left to right, Giz and Dom hang out on Melrose Ave. in the spring of 1986. Obviously seeking attention, they were all too eager to pose for their favorite punk-goth ‘zine – Propaganda. (Photo & Copyright © by Fred Berger)

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