And so we entered into the new year with a little sadness in our hearts about our shrinking Club Kid scene. The decade of the Noughties which saw the full-on revival of the dressing-up as a norm is now behind us and the vibes that were firing our tastes for all things 80s are muted and almost dried down, which means the club kid scene will go into another ice age until a future generation re-discovers the thrills and tribulations of this artistic subculture that painted the town red to black and every colour in between.
With fewer parties dedicated to the dressers, we will be reporting less about the nightlife and more about the culture and the legacy this scene has left for generations to follow.
For a start, in 2013 we will experience one of the biggest retrospectives of the Club Kid scene which be accomodated by the grandeur Victoria & Albert Museum and will open in the summer. The show, titled Club to Catwalk will explore the loud and striking fashion of the ’80s. As I tried many times in my blogs and through my book to make a point about the inspiration that the Club Kid subculture has contributed to world fashion, we will at last experience that true recognition, somewhat long overdue. The show promises to include everything from original club kids Leigh Bowery and Boy George to the work of designers like John Galliano, Vivienne Westwood and Katherine Hamnett. Curator Claire Wilcox is also hoping to include a collection of one-off custom denim jackets that were originally created as part of a V&A collaboration in the ’80s. They’ve already found several of the original jackets, including ones created by Zandra Rhodes, Paul Smith, Jasper Conran, Betty Jackson and Jean Muir and are still looking.
More on the subject will be reported as we come closer to the date, watch this space.
