The Legend of Leigh Bowery. ..

A timely reminder of the legend that is Leigh Bowery

As Seen In Blitz - book launch

Some of you might have already seen the new book "As seen in Blitz" dedicated to the hayday of the Blitz movement when the now cult magazine was the hip must-read of a whole generation. The book features a detailed insight into the most memorable content of the Blitz Magazine. In celebration of the launch of the book, the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London is throwing a glitzy launch party (by invite or ticket only) and here is the memo:

We're Not Here To Sell Clothes: The Making of BLITZ Fashion

18 May 2013 - 19 May 2013 - We are delighted to celebrate the launch of Iain R. Webb's new book As Seen in BLITZ: Fashioning '80s Style with a series of special events. Over the weekend there is a pop-up show in the ICA Theatre curated by former fashion editor Iain R Webb, a series of talks with special guests, and film screenings. As Seen in BLITZ: Fashioning '80s Style focuses on 1980s style and culture and includes a wealth of stunning visuals, text and interviews celebrating the deeply influential pages of BLITZ. In London at the start of the 1980s, three new style magazines emerged to define an era. It was a time of change: post punk before the digital age and at the dawn of a hedonistic club scene that saw the birth of the New Romantics. On the pages of BLITZ, The Face and i-D, a new breed of young iconoclasts hoped to inspire revolution. As BLITZ magazine's fashion editor from 1982-87, Iain R. Webb was at the centre of this world. His images manipulated fashion to explore ideas of transformation, beauty, glamour and sex. The magazine's arresting, subversive fashion pages, and its profiles of disparate designers and creative types, let the imagination run free.The cast of characters and contributors include Leigh Bowery, Amanda Cazalet, Boy George, Princess Julia, Nick Knight, David LaChapelle, Paul Morley and Anna Piaggi. Featured designers include Bodymap, Judy Blame, Dean Bright, Comme Des Garçons, Jasper Conran, John Galliano, Jean Paul Gaultier, Katharine Hamnett, Hermès, Pam Hogg, Marc Jacobs, Stephen Jones, Calvin Klein, Andrew Logan, Issey Miyake, Franco Moschino, Rifat Ozbek, Antony Price and Vivienne Westwood.'We're thrilled to be hosting the launch of As Seen in BLITZ. It's incredible to think who passed through the pages of BLITZ magazine - Malcolm McLaren, Madonna, Daniel Day-Lewis... I couldn't have survived the 80s without it.'
Gregor Muir, Executive Director, ICA

You can try booking your ticket here: http://www.ica.org.uk/37313/Talks/A-Weekend-with-BLITZ-Magazine.html?utm_source=Blitz+PV&utm_campaign=9f8e27a0f9-Blitz_Mag4_10_2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9c96fa0287-9f8e27a0f9-413170333#booktickets

A brief look into the Club Kid scene in 2013

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.