The Design Museum in London opens its doors to an exciting celebration of new British fashion through an exhibition. REBEL: 30 years of London fashion, in collaboration with NEWGEN, the British Fashion Council’s fashion talent incubator. This extraordinary exhibition, which opened on September 16, is a unique opportunity as it explores designers’ first steps in the world of fashion.
Design Museum director and CEO Tim Marlow said during the press launch: “This exhibition features some of the biggest names in fashion, but every look featured was created when the designers were just emerging. their heyday. The twenties, the moment when their talent was recognized and they began to realize their potential. This is extremely exciting as it reflects their boldness and experimentation, highlighting London as a creative center of excellence.”
Organized in collaboration with Sarah Mower, BFC Ambassador for New Talent, and Rebecca Levin, Senior Curator at the Design Museum, the exhibition tells the stories of hundreds of young designers, highlighting many works that have not been exhibited since their debut. One of the most daring and recognizable designers represented at the exhibition is Lee Alexander McQueen, one of the original participants in the NEWGEN initiative. His first collection, titled Taxi Driver after Martin Scorsese’s famous 1976 film, debuted in London in 1993 and was subsequently lost outside a nightclub. The Design Museum teamed up with McQueen’s friend and print designer Simon Ungless to share memories of how McQueen created the collection, through film and photographs of pubs and nightclubs that served as the backdrop.
As well as the McQueen section, the Design Museum showcases how London’s unique fashion scene has nurtured fashion talent and how the city has nurtured designers, whether as a place of training, the first stage to start a collection or network on the path to global success. success. The exhibition features nearly 100 innovative fashion looks that highlight the depth and diversity of the NewGen program, from the debut of Christopher Kane’s neon collection to Russell Sage’s reworked Union Jack jacket worn by Kate Moss for Vogue and Molly’s sugar blue ruffled dress. Goddard, which went viral on Instagram when it was worn by pop star Rihanna.
There is also a special section dedicated to how five designers, including Erdem and Roksanda, founded their brands. Each designer analyzes the key image and reveals the source of inspiration. Roksanda presents her ‘Cloud’ dress from the spring/summer 2007 collection, shares tips she received from Louise Wilson and explains how each raw organza petal on the dress is starched and blow-dried, and how she had to remove it to raise funds for the launch of your brand. Erdem told how he worked on his collection in his living room, his experience studying at the Royal College of Art and how Roland Mouret introduced him as a “skilled tailor”.
From emerging designers to London art institutions, this section explores how London art schools uniquely promote individual development, showcasing the work of Paolo Carzana, Louise Gray and Marta Jakubowski.
The Club Room showcases the boldness of London’s fashion scene with looks including Marjan Pejoski’s ‘swan’ dress, which Icelandic singer Björk controversially wore to the 2001 Oscars, and Sam Smith’s inflatable latex suit at the ceremony at this year’s BRIT Awards. Other highlights include a black “poodle” with giant ears and paws from Gareth Pugh’s debut NEWGEN collection from 2006, as well as a piece from Dior Men’s creative director Kim Jones from his ecstatic 2007 collection.
The “Backstage Pass” section allows visitors to gain “VIP” access to the spaces and moments leading up to the fashion show, from clothing and shoes to jewelry, headwear and makeup, while evoking the home-fashion emotions of a fashion event.
This exhibition takes visitors on an extraordinary journey through London’s creative landscape, touching on all the places where fashion magic happens. REBEL: 30 years of London fashion will be on display at the Design Museum, London from 16 September to 11 February 2024. The institution has announced plans to take the exhibition around the world to highlight the excellence of British design and inspire the next generation.