VICE FASHION - THE FUTURE OF WEAPONS
PHOTOS by Taz Darling
STYLING by Aldene Johnson
ASSISTED by Denise Dunstan and Kevin Morpurgo
Knife crime in the UK is out of control. Five percent of all crimes committed last year involved a blade. It’s got so bad, the government just introduced a new law that means even possessing one in public (like the kid in this picture was when we met him just off a high street in North London) means you face five years in prison. What follows are four classic “prison weapons” that are doing the rounds in jail thanks to the forward-thinking of a new generation of inmates bored of old weapons like shanks and Millwall bricks (a newspaper rolled up really tight so you can bash somebody with it). Thanks to Fast Harry and Bernard O’Mahoney for technical advice on this shoot.
Clothes model’s own
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Jacket by Puma, hoodie by Puma, top by Lee Cooper, T-shirt by Mambo, jeans by Money
| You’d have to have these bicycle spokes smuggled into the prison. This is easier said than done because everything gets X-rayed these days. You can either wrap them up in tape and Blu Tack then “wrist-rocket” them over the prison wall (allegedly extremely popular at Wormwood Scrubs). You can make a “fishing rod” out of glued-together towel rails and coat hangers and then fish the package up. Tie them around your wrist and, bingo, you’re Wolverine. |
Jacket by Blood and Glitter, T-shirt by Carhartt, hoodie by Jack and Jones
| For years, inmates have slashed each other’s faces and bodies with shaving razors glued to a piece of wood (usually a match or chip from a towel rail) that was 10mm apart. The gaps between the razors leave a nasty cut that’s hard to stitch together. Bored of this weapon, inmates are now starting to use four separate blades glued or melted into the plastic of the razor holders by setting fire to them. |
Hoodie by DVS, T-shirt by Fifty 24SF, jeans by DVS, shoes by Puma
| Knuckle-dusters are often smuggled into prison either by the aforementioned “wrist-rocketing” method or by bribing prison officers. If you want to cause real, incontrovertible damage then glue sharped pieces of coat hanger to the outside of the weapon. |
Hoodie by Lee, T-shirt by Upper Playground, trousers by Criminal Damage, sock by American Apparel
| This is a twist on the classic pool-balls-in-sock weapon that Ray Winstone famously used in the movie Scum. Inmates get to play pool during “association” time. Here we’ve blended that weapon with the classic “cup full of boiling sugar and water mix.” The sugar sticks to the face and causes more damage than regular boiling water. If you’re playing pool and you can’t find one of the balls, listen out for a groaning sound and try to find who’s making it. He’s probably the person who saw the ball last. |
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