OUTLAWS Fashion Renegades of Leigh Bowery’s 1980s London – Martin Green, NJ Stevenson – Book Review

OUTLAWS, Fashion Renegades, Leigh Bowery, Martin Green, NJ Stevenson

OUTLAWS Fashion Renegades of Leigh Bowery’s 1980s London is an unvarnished homage to the unhinged, anarchic inventiveness of the London Club scene in the 1980s. Penned by Martin Green and NJ Stevenson, this tome immerses the reader into the teeming underground where fashion and Performance Art merged with eye-opening results. It’s a tribute to the fashion revolution stirred up by Leigh Bowery, the charismatic Australian-born performance artist whose avant-garde dream helped both mould and mirror an era.

‘Dress as though your life depends on it, or don’t bother.’ – Leigh Bowery, 1985

The book chronicles Bowery and his tribe’s defiant spirit, which made club culture in London an outlandish exercise in avant-garde fashion. Bowery opened Taboo, London’s iconic nightclub, in 1985, and it was the central gathering spot for such rebels. Green and Stevenson provide first-hand recollections from insiders like the musician Holly Johnson and DJ Mark Moore, along with rare archival photographs from the era that capture the outfits and performances that defined the scene in outrageous detail.

What distinguishes Outlaws is the coming together of commissioned photography and personal reminiscences. For the first time, it gathers original outfits created by 28 pioneering designers, such as John Galliano, Pam Hogg, and Wayne Hemingway, with Bowery’s even more out-there designs. These are not just fashion statements; they were bold, expressive works of art meant to shock conventions and redefine style.

Beyond fashion, Outlaws charts the broader cultural relevance of Bowery’s world, touching on everything from music to photography, from LGBTQ+ history onwards. It will highlight how this creative community pushed the boundaries and shaped British popular culture in the mid-80s, making this an essential addition to the history of alternative fashion.

Published to coincide with the Fashion and Textile Museum’s Outlaws exhibition from October 2024 to March 2025, the book is a sumptuous feast of images and a riveting narrative about an era when getting dressed up was an act of defiance. Green and Stevenson’s veteran status brings authenticity and further depth to the story, ensuring that Bowery’s legacy and that of his fellow fashion rebels live on.

Ultimately, Outlaws is not just a fashion book per se; it is more about the the people who dared to dress like their lives depended on it. Anyone interested in the cross-section of fashion and art revolving around counterculture will enjoy reading this book. – PCR Artlyst

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