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Casuals are an element of football support that first evolved in the late 70's, early 80's in the UK and which was typified by the wearing of expensive European designer clothing.
Origins and the 80's
The cult of Casual began to grow as English football fans returned from trips to continental Europe follwing clubs such as Nottingham Forest, West Ham and in particular Liverpool FC and Everton. Fans began arriving in England wearing expensive Italian and French designer clothes, most of which had been looted from stores during outbreaks of violence that were commonplace when English fans travelled abroad. Initially many hooligans started to wear designer labels and expensive sportswear so as not to attract the attention of police and no club colours were worn so it was easier to infiltrate rival groups as well as gain access to pubs etc. At the time many police forces were still on the look out for skinhead fans wearing Doc Martin boots and didn't pay attention to fans in expensive designer clothing. Gradually this changed to become a fully fledged cult with fashions changing weekly and that was beginning to make a huge impact on mainstream youth culture
The Casual cult reached its peak in the late 80's and with the arrival of the Acid House, Rave and Madchester scenes many commented that the violence in the cult died out, although the huge upturn in violence from 1990 onwards seems to contradict this view.
90's to the Present
During the Mid 90's casual culture witnessed a revival but emphasis on style had changed slightly. Many fans adopted the casual look as a kind of uniform, identifying them as different from the ordinary supporters at their club. Brands such as Stone Island, Aquascutum and the infamous Burberry were seen at nearly every club
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