Dirty Looks : Desire and Decay in Fashion

Surprisingly good exhibition at the Barbican Art Gallery examining how contemporary fashion designers have been influenced by dirt and decay.

I thought this would be a weird and wacky but went along on the principle I try to go to everything! I was pleasantly surprised to find a well explained narrative and some beautiful clothes. I liked the small booklet they gave you rather than having long labels but found it quite hard to use in the show partly because I was so busy taking photos.

The show started on the upper level, setting out the main themes, from mud, through staining, clothes made to look like they had decayed and those that really had and ideas of combating waste in the industry.

Downstairs was set up more like open installations of work by specific designers and had a catwalk feel. Some of the pieces looked more like contemporary art than fashion.

Closed 25 January 2026


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