Hi all! I went to check out the 1980’s Club to Catwalk exhibition at the
V&A and though I'd share my thoughts with you all. So here goes...
Bodymap, A/W 1984 © V&A
Being a veritable 1990's
baby as well as a die-hard fashion, accessories and jewellery lover, I was fascinated by the exhibition. I have studied 1980s fashion and pored over countless images,
but here I was, physically entering a magical 80’s fashion underworld.
Installation Image from the Club to Catwalk Exhibition © V&A
The exhibition
showcases the outrageous fashion the 1980s was all about; this was the decade
when fashion really became more individually expressive, when people felt liberated
to dress however they liked.
Creative, explorative and wild - I can see why designers today look back
so often to the 1980s for inspiration.
Installation Image from the Club to Catwalk Exhibition © V&A
The ground
floor of the exhibition showcases key designers of the decade; Katharine
Hamnett's typography t-shirts emblazoned with protests of the period, John
Galliano and London nightlife inspired designs and of course Vivienne
Westwood's punk with its influences from classical and pagan cultures, hobo
dress and modern art. For me, John Galliano has always been one of my favourite
designers so being a hair's breadth away from his early works was a slice of
pure joy.
Installation
Image from the Club to Catwalk Exhibition © V&A
The first floor
of the exhibition showcases key 1980's trends - masculine grunge looks, studs,
oversized silhouettes, glam fetish, goth, rave and body map - many of which are
still all over our high streets today. My favourite look was without a doubt
would be the casual oversized silhouettes - those pieces are playful, comfortable
AND functional – like you could work all day and then dance all night in them.
This would definitely be the style I would have strutted had I been walking
around in that fabulous decade.
The Cloth, Summer Summit 1985 © V&A
Overall, the Club to Catwalk exhibition was a captivating reminder of how being creative, carefree and expressing yourself is what fashion is all about!
