From outrageously sized shoulder pads to skin-tight leotards, the 80s was a time where eccentrically outlandish looks took to the limelight. The decade didn’t believe in apologising, and following a rule book was a thing of the past, instead creative minds embraced a free-thinking approach where brash creativity was at its peak and distinctive clothing was created on a shoestring budget.
Now hoping to educate all, the V&A’s most recent exhibit, Club To Catwalk, takes you on a nostalgic trip down memory lane as it shows you how this hasty do-it-yourself era was influenced by London’s abruptly stylish club scene.
Split into two, the mezzanine level focuses upon the unapologetic nightlife of the “club”, before leading you down to the ground level which is home to an array of top designers, including Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano, Michiko Kosmino and Willy Brown of Modern Classics. There spectators are in the “catwalk” and treated to a variety of runway collections that capture the boldness of the hedonistic time.
The “club” tells a contextualised story of well-dressed mannequins that reflect the bold, larger than life attitudes of London’s youth and identify the key trends tends of the era: “Hard Times”, “Glam Fetish”, “Body Conscious”, “Rave” and “Goth”.
Towards the front of the staircase, “Hard Times” stands to attention as it greets the exhibition’s inhabitants with a whirlwind of maliciously ensembled silhouettes. Protesting against depersonalised factory clothes, “La Rocka!” by Loyd Johnson [1986] bought a rebellious flair to the collection with boy-ish shaped biker jackets that raised their middle finger to the world. The designs featured lashings of studs and statement graffiti logos that emphasising how the 80s was about being tough, masculine but sexy.
In other areas of the floor, “Glam Fetish” showed how the likes of Vivienne Westwood gave the largely popular craze of 70s “Fetish” the royal re-boot. Taking influence from the New Wave music scene, the display identified how the guru used striking hues of gold and oversized jewellery in her scandalous collection, “The Machine”, dated 1988-86.
Venturing further into the exhibition, Pam Hogg gave her take on “Body Conscious” with a lycra geometric bodysuit. Being a challenge for both the designer and wearer alike, Hogg’s creation shows how stretch fabric was one of the driving forces of the era. Sure, it may not have looked very comfortable but with dull shades of yellow, red and brown, the piece had all the fashion quotient needed when it comes to 80s dressing. Next to Hogg was Rifat Ozbech, who displayed an all-in-white version of “Rave”, followed by Teresa Coburn whose racy “Goth” inspired outfit mixed a PVC pencil skirt with a plunging V neck corset.
In midst of the chaos, Jeffrey Hinton injected a life of personality into the exhibition by inviting you to join him in “The Blitz Club”. The mock-up of the popular waterhole was overpowered by respected tracks that Hinton played in the early hours of the morning at 80s clubs like Circus, Cha Cha, Taboo and, of course, The Blitz. Alongside the medley of classics, was a short film that featured everything from Instagram-worthy “selfies” to steamy make-out shots that were full of disobedience and uprising.
Other video footage which expressed the carefree spirit of the decade included clips of the 1986 V&A auction of customised Levi Strauss jackets, displayed in the “catwalk”. The video saw Westwood take to the runway in a bleached number as she performed a theatrical dance that pushed fashion boundaries and encouraged masses to customise their clothes. Emblazed with her iconic orb logo and intentional rips, the jacket was on display in the gallery and stood alongside others from Stephen Linard, Jacques Azagury, Zandra Rhodes and Leigh Bowery, whose alternative take on the traditional indigo had a “make, do and mend” spin with lashings of gold hair slides.
Delving further into the “catwalk” an array of hidden gems can quickly be discovered, including tailored combos by Chrissie Walsh, inflatable jackets by Michiko Kosmino and an overly bright DIY collection by Betty Jackson. Alongside the greats John Galliano’s S/S 1985 collection “Fallen Angles” stood there in triumphant glory. The designer, who fed off the club scene, possessed a great deal of subversive creativity making him one of the most influential designers of the decade. From the pale pink muslin evening gown Sibylle De Saint Phalle wore during his 1986 show, to the out of proportion, green and white, textured tartan suit he quickly became known for, the V&A’s display of Galliano’s in-your-face designs marked the beginning of the ostentatious style he quickly became known for.
Ending on a high, what came before the 80s may have been a mass of designers and creatives galore, but what Club To Catwalk really highlighted was a cast of characters who took fashion to another level. Rather than be pulled in by financial rewards and an expectation to design or create in a certain way, to these recognisable designers that meant very little at the time. Instead they focused on expressing their youth and making the most out of every second of it in a radical way which quickly shaped and rooted fashion.
Club To Catwalk is at the Victoria & Albert Museum until 16 February 2014.
