This show is a walk down memory lane – if the lane was a runway and your memories are strewn with stacks of Dazed, ID and Another magazines. A particularly millennial, fashion-focused memory lane.
‘30 Years of London Fashion’ takes you on a journey through the designers, celebrities and looks of the past three decades in this city. You’ll see copies of 90s Vanity Fair alongside a Nokia 3210, Bjork’s Marjan Pejoski swan dress and Sam Smith’s inflatable latex Harri suit. There are a few other highly recognisable ‘fits, but aside from that, you’ll need to be a certain sort of fashion lover to enjoy it.
In the entrance, there’s a chart that takes you through the years, spotlighting key moments in fashion culture. Underneath, there’s each year’s winner of the British Fashion Council’s New Gen award – and it’s these designers you’ll need to be familiar with to really get excited about this show. Think Meadham Kirchoff, Craig Green, Agi and Sam, Sibling and Nazir Mazhar.
It’s about as far removed from the V&A’s Dior or Chanel shows as it’s possible to get: subtract glitz and glamour, add a bit of grubby east London club scene and multiply.
I studied and worked in fashion during the 00s, so it hit me right in the feels. It brought back poring over Fashion Week roundups and praying my favourite designers would do a (sort-of) accessible high-street collaboration. I left weepy and nostalgic for my former life, pre-toddler and comfortable shoes.
This exhibition is a celebration of the creativity this city has nurtured on runways, streets and at parties, despite its economic challenges. It’s also a place to meet, reminisce and reconnect with a certain place in time. Drop your mates a BBM, yeah? You’ll need someone to churn over the memories with.
