joseph scissorhands: Outlaws: Fashion Renegades of 80s London

'It's 1985 so dress as though your life depends on it, or don't bother' - Leigh Bowery

Interest in the work of artist, stylist, fashion designer, dancer, model and muse Leigh Bowery is having something of a resurgence at the moment. There was a small but beautifully curated show in 2022 at the Fitzrovia Chapel, Leigh Bowery: Tell Them I've gone To Papua New Guinea (here), and in a few months an exhibition devoted to him opens at no less an institution than Tate Modern. This exhibition at Bermondsey's Fashion and Textile Museum captures the creativity, excitement and exuberance centred around the legendary TABOO nightclub in the 1980s. Leigh Bowery came to London from Australia aged 19. Like many others with the creative impulse, he was attracted to the capital by images he'd seen of London in the British press. Leigh and many of his circle started out in shared squats around Warren Street and the Camden area. These squats housed others including such names as Boy George and DJ Princess Julia as well as milliner Stephen Jones (here). These squats were hubs of the club scene. They were hives of collaboration, creativity and support housing several talented individuals, who despite their straitened circumstances and limited means would go on to make names for themselves in art, music and fashion. A fire in one of the squats meant that Leigh was rehoused in his own flat in Stepney. It was here that he was given the space to flourish and give full rein to his ideas and image. Bowery started Taboo in Leicester Square in January 1985, and although it only lasted for one year, the club immediately drew a young crowd of regulars known for their outrageous dress who felt like outsiders but here found similar kindred spirits. None was more outrageous than the ringmaster Bowery himself, and he soon began to feature in the very same press, (style bible magazines such as Blitz, The Face and ID) that held such allure for him. Interestingly the exhibition demonstrates that these magazines which all coincidentally launched in 1980 were staffed by the stylists, photographers, editors and designers all also at the beginnings of their careers, who would regularly frequent Taboo. Writing for The Face magazine Robert Elms was one of the first to identify the importance of club nights on the youth fashion in that period and promoted these through the magazine. Taboo very quickly became the most fashionable club in London with Leigh and his outrageous outfits grabbing much media attention. The club naturally attracted an 'arty' crowd. Grayson Perry was a regular attendee as was dancer Michael Clark whom Bowery would go on to design for and perform with. Bowery's costumes and extreme 'looks' would influence fashion designers such as Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano, all of whom were also regulars at Taboo. Taboo club goers were well aware of the power and impact of image. Many of the clothing designs were inspired of course by David Bowie and the performative aspects and attitude of glam rock. Performers such as Boy George and Pete Burns who attended Taboo watched Top of the Pops on a Thursday evenings as they grew up and were conscious of the influence of both Top of the Pops and MTV as a medium to promote youth culture and fashion designs which they would commission from designers they knew through the circles that attended Taboo. Another important aspect of the era and club culture promoted in the magazines were the markets which sold clothing such as Kensington Market on High Street Kensington. These markets were social exchanges where the youth would hang out and exchange information about the latest in what was happening. There was very much a DIY attitude and aesthetic as certain designers and their clients rejected mass produced clothing for a specific, edgier kind of look. These markets contained numerous stalls peopled by young designers who would recycle tribal looks such as goth, rockabilly, skinhead, punk etc. and remake these clothes into something different and unique for themselves and customers to wear to the clubs and hopefully be seen by, and appear in one of the style bibles. The exhibition abundantly displays many of the outrageous outfits of the period and it is great to see that so many of the items have survived in relatively good condition despite the nights of drinking and dancing they were put through. Clashing colours and patterns combined with unusual strong silhouettes looked to be very much the order of the day as you can see in the pictures below. Original early designs by Pam Hogg and John Galliano feature. This exhibition was a wonderful exercise in nostalgia for me personally, and it was accompanied with a fantastic period soundtrack playing in the background evoking memories of my own clubbing days in the 80s at the other end of the country in clubs such as Manchester's legendary Haçienda, and Liverpool's Bigmouth nightclub.