Outlaws: Fashion Renegades of 80s London

Fun, vibrant exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum looking at the Taboo nightclub and the fashion of the people who went there.

The club was opened by designer and performance artist, Leigh Bowery in 1985 with the dress code ‘dress as though your life depends on it, or don’t bother’. The show started by looking at the club and what those who went wore with sections on each of the designers and shops they favoured. I loved an installation which recreated a night in the club complete with DJ.

It then looked at the designers who went to the club including Bowery himself and how their careers developed. There was a fun display upstairs on the pop stars of the early 80s who wore the fashions which brought back a lot of memories and another on the department store Browns which supported a lot if the designers.

As with a lot of shows like this the best bit was my fellow punters, many of whom had been there, and literally got the t-shirt. 

Closes 9 March 2024


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