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9/7/2013

Club to Catwalk

Victoria & Albert Museum, London

Discover the creative explosion of London fashion in the 1980s in a major exhibition at the V&A. Through more than 85 outfits, Club to Catwalk: London Fashion in the 1980s showcases the bold and exciting new looks by the most experimental young designers of the decade, including Betty Jackson, Katharine Hamnett, Wendy Dagworthy and John Galliano.

The exhibition traces the emerging theatricality in British fashion as the capital’s vibrant and eclectic club scene influenced a new generation of designers. Also celebrating iconic styles such as New Romantic and High Camp, and featuring outfits worn by Adam Ant and Leigh Bowery, the exhibition explores how the creative relationship between catwalk and club wear helped reinvent fashion, as reflected in magazines such as i-D and Blitz and venues including Heaven and Taboo.

Club
The ’80s saw the explosion of the London club scene. Specialist club ‘nights’ offered opportunities for dressing up in the company of a like-minded crowd. Stevie Stewart of BodyMap explained that ‘each group of people, whether they were fashion designers, musicians or dancers, filmmakers, living together and going out together had a passion for creating something new that was almost infectious’.

Early clubs such as Billy’s, Blitz and the Club for Heroes were small and attracted a selective crowd. As the decade progressed, venues such as the Camden Palace and one-off warehouse parties began to attract much larger audiences. Although less intimate, they perpetuated the creative link between music, club and catwalk. This symbiotic relationship remained the defining characteristic of 1980s style.

Catwalk
In the early ’80s, London fashion began to create a stir internationally. Fashion shows took place in New York and Japan. One breakthrough event, titled ‘London Goes to Tokyo’, included many of the designers featured here and in the upstairs gallery.

The inventiveness of London design owed much to the excellence of the city’s arts education. Colleges such as St Martin’s, the Royal College of Art and Hornsey College of Art offered advanced training in the fundamentals of fashion design, while also encouraging individuality.

At night, young designers’ imaginations were sparked by a vibrant London club scene. John Galliano recalled, ‘Thursday and Friday at St Martin’s, the college was almost deserted. Everybody was at home working on their costumes for the weekend’. Designer Georgina Godley remembers, 'Young London was all about taking risks and creating something out of nothing through passion and ambition'.

Image: Trojan and Mark at Taboo. Derek Ridgers, colour photograph, 1986 © Derek Ridgers

For more press information please contact
Olivia Colling or Alice Evans in the V&A Press Office on 0207 942 2725/ 2508 or email press.office@vam.ac.uk

Victoria & Albert Museum South Kensington
Cromwell Road London SW7 2RL
Daily 10.00 - 17.30 (last ticket sold 16.00, last entry 16.15)
Friday 10.00 - 21.30 (last ticket sold 20.00, last entry 20.15)
Exhibition closes 15 minutes prior to the Museum closing
open late every Friday - why not take this opportunity to visit Memory Palace, meet friends and have a drink in our café-bar
Admission:
£7.00 Full, including donation* (+£1.40 booking fee per ticket)
£6.00 Senior citizens, including donation* (+£1.40 booking fee per ticket )
£6.00 Full (+£1.40 booking fee per ticket)
£5.00 Senior citizens (+90p booking fee per ticket)
£4.00 Full-time students, 12-17 year olds, ES40 holders, disabled people (+90p booking fee per ticket)
Free to under-12s, carers accompanying disabled people, V&A Members and Patrons, ICOM / Museum

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