Leigh Bowery. Rachel Auburn. Stevie Stewart. David Holah. Annie La Paz. Vivienne Westwood. These are just some of the names of iconic designers from 80s London.

During the 1980s, London was the epicentre of defiant and controversial fashion, which has shaped contemporary design for the past four decades and continues to do so. The 80s was a time of sexual liberation, especially for queer men and women, and young designers used provocative and vulgar prints, slogans and cut-outs in their clothes to anger the establishment and empower the people.

The 80s was a monumental decade for British politics, with the infamous Margaret Thatcher rising to power in 1979 and remaining Prime Minister until 1990. Thatcher is of course known for closing down coal mines across the country, which resulted in huge riots in 1984. The AIDS crisis, which began in 1981, swept the media with anti-gay propaganda and fear-mongering, famously the ‘AIDS: Monolith’ advert which depicted a giant tombstone being carved into a cliff face with the word AIDS. The historical advert was part of a public health initiative called ‘Don’t Die of Ignorance’ to raise awareness of the, as described then, deadly incurable disease.

As always, fashion reflected and rebelled the political sphere at the time. A label that is synonymous with the 80s is Bodymap. Founded in 1982 by Stevie Stewart and David Holah, the pair used fabrics such as neoprene, jersey, and cotton towelling to create body-con garments amassed with oversized yet sculpted layers. Boy George was a frequent front-row guest at their catwalks.

There is currently an exhibition on at the Fashion and Textile Museum in Bermondsey Village called ‘Outlaws: Fashion Renegades of 80s London’. It is a jaw-dropping assortment of collections and pieces from 80s designers, where visitors are led through the moving and emotional stories which led to the birth of designs which remain iconic to this day.

The exhibition is a collaboration between fashion curator NJ Stevenson and Martin Green of Duo Vision, as well as Green’s partner James Lawler who was a creative consultant. The three worked with art director and mannequin collector David Cabaret, who was a large part of 80s London nightlife.

Here I am going to share some of my favourite collections in the exhibition, without giving too much away so you can go and be awed by the museum in-person.

Leigh Bowery

A focal point of the exhibition is the work of Leigh Bowery. Born in Australia in 1961, Bowery moved to London at just 19, where he soon became a part of the London club scene. By 1985 Bowery created the club Taboo in Leicester Square, where people could defy sexual convention and embrace their true unencumbered selves. The club was only open for 18 months, and was shut down in 1986 after an article in the Mail on Sunday exposed the drug use at the club. Nevertheless, Taboo made a permanent mark on the London queer scene.

Bowery became especially known for his eccentric style, most of which he made himself. He was not only a designer and club owner, but also a performer, model, TV personality and musician. He often worked with Michael Clark, and would have solo scenes in Clark’s shows. Michael Clark is a Scottish dancer and choreographer, who commissioned for The Paris Opera, Scottish Ballet, London Festival Ballet, Ballet Rambert, Phoenix Dance Company and the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Markets played a massive part in the subcultures of London. The 80s was synonymous with distinct subcultures, such as teddy boys, mods, rockers, punks, new romantics, and goths, just to name a few. For the youth, wearing second hand and hand-made garments became an important part of the counter-culture attempt to move away from mass-production. Kensington market on High Street Kensington and the Great Gear Market on the Kings road became underground worlds for creatives to share what they were wearing, which clubs they were going to, and what events were upcoming. In 1983, Hyper Hyper opened opposite Kensington Market, a fashion-focused market for young designers to sell looks that would often be debuted in the clubs at night.

In 1985, Rachel Auburn and Leigh Bowery opened a stall at Hyper Hyper in Kensington Market called Spend Spend Spend. The pair used outlandishly colourful and conflicting designs to create daringly wonderful androgynous outfits.

In an interview with Dazed and Confused, Auburn described meeting Bowery: “It is quite funny, I noticed him because he was wearing the biggest shoulder-pads I have ever seen. I used to laugh, but he braved it for a while.”

Auburn goes on to speak about the lawlessness of the 80s: “The clubs were all quite riotous, and because it was pre-Aids the vibe was that anything goes.”

Hyper Hyper pieces displayed in Fashion and Textile Museum. Image Credit: Rhys James

Elmaz Huseyin

Described in the exhibition as “One of the most prolific designers of the early 1980s”, Elmaz Huseyin combined hand-made prints with tailoring. Huseyin graduated from St Martin’s School of Art in 1982, afterwards renting a studio in Wapping with her college friend Sue Came, where the designers hand-painted expressive and vibrant second-hand shirts and dresses. The exhibition showcases several pieces of Huseyin’s, including a hand-printed dress (below middle). The tiny dress was sold to BOY, a cult London fashion shop. The hand-printed swimsuit and green robe (below left) are both made by Huseyin in 1984-85, and are on loan at the exhibition from Elmaz Huseyin Estate.

Whilst there is little information about Huseyin herself, I found the hand=painted garments some of the most moving in the exhibition. The garments have a child-like whimsy, and invoke emotions of true joy and playfulness.

Work by Elmaz Huseyin

Shown in the Fashion and Textiles Museum

Image Credit: Rhys James

Bodymap

Bodymap remains one of the most important fashion labels of the 1980s. Founded in 1982 by fashion graduates Stevie Stewart and David Holah, the duo pioneered a style that at that point had never been seen before. In 1985 it was described as “perhaps the hottest, most visually arresting company in Britain’s design renaissance” by the Chicago Tribune.

The label was launched from a stall in Camden Market while both Stewart and Holah were still only students at Middlesex Polytechnic; Holah had tried to get into Central Saint Martins but was rejected after an interview, and their first collection ‘Matelots and Milkmaids’ was bought by Browns, an iconic London store.

The label often collaborated with Hilde Smith for her distinctive graphic prints. Bodymap used fabrics that up until then hadn’t been used for clothes before, such as neoprene, viscose and lycra to make that stretchy, tight-fitting material, that they would combine with unique pattern-cutting to create a look that is now a part of 80s iconography. In an interview with System Magazine, Holah talks about the designers focus on British materials: “We wanted to buy all of our fabrics from England. Even the jersey was from Nottingham”.

The picture above shows a lilac Unitard designed by Bodymap in 1988 for the Michael Clark Company performance of I am Curious, Orange. The game-changing performance premiered at the Holland Festival in Amsterdam, and was a outlandish and illogical spectacle. Viewers witnessed a carton of McDonald’s fries lowered from a roof, spilling over dancers who fall down dead. A giant green telephone runs across the stage, never to be seen again. Dancing oranges and lemons and 14-inch platform shoes.

The influence of Bodymap quickly became transatlantic thanks to recognition from Susanne Bartsch, a Swiss born event producer who held monthly parties at the Cococabana in New York in the 80s, becoming an icon of New York nightlife. Bodymap was shown at ‘New London in New York’, and quickly garnered sizeable publicity from the US fashion press.

Syrie Panton and Mark Lowings

Work of Mark and Syrie shown in the Fashion and Textiles Museum. Image Credit: Rhys James

Perhaps my favourite part of the exhibition as someone who is passionate about sustainable fashion is the work of Syrie Panton and Mark Lowings. Panton and Lowings are both self-taught designers who used repurposed materials, such as rugs and tea towels, to make their clothes. The pair originally fly-pitched in Covent Garden to show off their designs, eventually showing their work at the Lascelles tea room in Carnaby Street.

The Mark and Syrie debut collection was shown at London Fashion Week in 1985, and featured 15 looks constructed from tourist and souvenir fabrics. One of the more famous pieces from Mark and Syrie include their Queen Elizabeth linen tea towel print jacket and miniskirt.

The image above shows seven pieces from the duo, all of which are made from repurposed materials. On the far left is a child’s coat, and next to this is a carpet jacket from the 1986 ‘Workman and Cats’ collection. The carpet jacket has been paired with the Carnaby Street linen shorts remade by David Cabaret. On the mannequin second to the right is my favourite piece from Mark and Syrie, the guardsman tea towel trousers from their 1985 ‘Tourist Chic’ collection. This has been beuatifully paired with a souveneir scarf blouse that has been remade by David Cabaret and Syrie Cox. Lastly, on the far right the mannequin dons the nation flag tea towel jacket and miniskirt (the skirt has been remade by David Cabaret), also from the ‘Tourist Chic’ collection. Looking at these pieces in the exhibition, I felt a strange sense of British patriotism, not for the government or the monarchy, but for the nations ingenious creativity and resourcefulness.

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) have three works related to Mark and Syrie, including a silk Khaki dress designed in 1984.

‘Outlaws: Fashion Renegades of 80s London’ is currently on at the Fashion and Textile Museum in Bermondsey Village until 9th March, and tickets are £12.65 for adults.

A journey through 80s queer London: Fashion and Textile Museum