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Club to Catwalk celebrates the fusion and global impact of the original and exciting London clubbing and fashion scenes, during the 1980’s; tracing the infiltration of club-wear to catwalk shows through the decade.

 

The London style emerged from clubs like The Camden Palace, Taboo and Blitz with its strict “only weird and wonderful“ door policy.

Magazines such as The Face, the definitive ‘style bible’ of the 1980s, brought the latest trends and energy of the London tribes: Fetish, Goth, Rave, High Camp and New Romantics, to the mainstream and changed the way a generation expressed itself through fashion and music.

 

 

 

 

 

Club to Catwalk: London Fashion in the 1980's

 

More than 90 fully accessorised outfits are displayed in the exhibition, by names such as Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Bruce Oldfield, Betty Jackson, Anthony Price, Katherine Hamnett, John Galliano and Rifat Ozbek; as well as milliner Stephen Jones and shoe guru Patrick Cox. 

 

The show also includes clothes of the type worn by Boy George and Adam Ant, as well as more extreme items from the designs and wardrobe of performance artist and promoter of the London club Taboo, Leigh Bowery. These include a yellow star coat, sequinned cap and a purple stretch bodysuit with tubes hanging from breasts and crotch, that he wore with a turquoise corduroy jacket lined in purple striped satin.

Fashion designer Stevie Stewart of BodyMap, famed for  slinky-fitting knits, noted that ‘each group of people, whether they were fashion designers, musicians or dancers, filmmakers or whatever, living together, going out together and at the same clubs ... had a passion then for creating something new ... that was almost infectious’. 

 

On this fabulous  trip down memory lane we see clearly the impact of the 1980s: the exultant spirit of crazy, experimentation - in fashion, in gender, in sex, in uniqueness and magnificent excess.

 

However, this exhibition is not only about the 80’s fashionable elite, even the likes of Sock Shop and Filofax are included, though, there is not a single ‘Dynasty style’ shoulder pad to be found...

 

The exhibition is curated by V&A Head of Fashion, Claire Wilcox, and Wendy Dagworthy is the expert consultant.

 

The Victoria and Albert Museum is located at Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL

Entry to the exhibition is £5.

To book visit www.vam.ac.uk or call 020 7907 7073 (booking fee applies)

Club to Catwalk: London Fashion in the 1980s will be shown in gallery 40, the V&A’s fashion gallery

There is a V&A Fashion Shop range inspired by Club to Catwalk.

'80s Fashion: From Club to Catwalk (edited by Sonnet Stanfill) will be available from V&A Publishing priced £19.99 in paperback. 

10 July 2013 – 16 February 2014, V&A London

 

Bodymap, A/W 1984

Bodymap, A/W 1984

Cat in the hat takes a rumble with a techno fish. Model: Scarlett Cannon. (c) 1985 Monica Curtin

Jonathan Batcave, 1983

Jonathan Batcave, 1983

(c) Derek Ridgers

Trojan and Mark at Taboo,1986

Trojan and Mark at Taboo,1986

(c) Derek Ridgers

Joseph Tricot ensemble

Joseph Tricot ensemble

Elle, November 1985, (c) Giles Tapie

The Cloth, Summer Summit, 1985

The Cloth, Summer Summit, 1985

(c) Anita Corbin

Front cover, The Face, no. 77

Front cover, The Face, no. 77

Lloyd Johnson, gold jacket, on display in exhibition. (c) Eamonn Mccabe

The London style emerged from clubs such as The Camden Palace, Taboo and Blitz with its strict  “only weird and wonderful“ door policy.
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