OUTLAWS
FASHION RENEGADES OF LEIGH BOWERY’S 1980S LONDON
by Martin Green & NJ Stevenson
‘Dress as though your life depends on it or don’t bother.’ (Leigh Bowery, 1985)
Leigh Bowery at home, 1980s. © Derek Ridgers, c/o Unravel Productions.
Outlaws pays homage to the boundary-pushing fashion and styling that defined London’s vibrant 1980s club scene, celebrating the anarchic energy and experimental flair of Leigh Bowery and his fellow fashion renegades, who pioneered a unique and daring creative movement.
Trojan and Mark at Taboo, 1986. © Derek Ridgers, c/o Unravel Productions.
Bowery, an Australian-born performance artist and fashion designer, was the central figure of this movement, and he and his circle of friends sparked an explosion of outrageous fashion. Outlaws features specially commissioned photography of original outfits crafted by28 trailblazing clothes designers, including John Galliano, Stephen Linard, Bodymap, Pam Hogg, Rachel Auburn,Wayne Hemingway and Bowery himself.
Susanne Bartsch, Leigh Bowery and Friends at Savage, New York, 1988. © John Simone.
These are accompanied by first-hand accounts from musician Holly Johnson, DJ Mark Moore, artist Peter Doig and photographer Dave Swindells, as well as rare photos and flyers from club nights where these outfits were worn, such as Bowery’s legendary Taboo, the weekly club night he founded in 1985 in Leicester Square.
Leigh Bowery and Boy George. ‘Blitz’ Designer Collection Fashion Show at the Albery Theatre, London, 1986. © Brendan Beirne/Shutterstock.
The scene also encompassed art, photography, film and music and was a vibrant marker in LGBTQ+ history. It forged a creative community of people who together influenced and changed the landscape of British popular culture in the mid-1980s. Outlaws celebrates their remarkable talents.
David Walls, Leigh Bowery and friends, London, 1983/4. © Michael Costiff.
Martin Green was a regular on the 1980s club circuit and went on to run the legendary nightclub Smashing in the early 90s. He is co-curator of the exhibition Outlaws: Fashion Renegades of 80s London which opens at the Fashion and Textile Museum, London in October 2024. Green has compiled 30 albums and has a show on Soho Radio. He has co-ordinated fashion show music for Katherine Hamnett, Pringle and Pucci and has DJ’d at events for Pulp, Prada and Paul McCartney.
Leigh Bowery (centre), Joan Burey (right) and friends at Matthew Hawkin’s Intravenous after show party, 2nd May 1987, Photographer Unknown. © Joan Burey.
NJ Stevenson began her fashion curatorial career in 2008 and has since worked on many projects with venues including the Fashion and Textile Museum, where she is co-curating Outlaws with Martin Green. Stevenson is widely published and is a lecturer at the London College of Fashion. She first met Martin Green on the London club scene in the early 1990s.
Kensington Market, early 1980s. © Sheila Rock.
Outlaws: Fashion Renegades of 80s London at the Fashion Textile Museum focuses on the legendary nightclub Taboo opened by designer and performance artist Leigh Bowery and the fashion designers, artists, writers, performers and filmmakers who went there. Displaying original garments and accessories from Leigh and over thirty designers plus photography, film and artworks, the exhibition focuses on this outrageous, alternative arena.This is the first exhibition to explore the range of designers and creatives associated with Taboo, many of whom have been forgotten or died tragically young.
Outlaws: Fashion Renegades of 80s London is showing at the Fashion and Textile Museum, 4 October 2024–9 March 2025.
SCALA ARTS & HERITAGE PUBLISHERS
