Review Essay: The 'Britishness' of Fashion
Comparing the interwoven elements and narratives which compose British fashion today.
A review of “The REBEL: 30 Years of London Fashion“ exhibition at the London Design museum and The Missing Thread: Untold Stories of Black British Fashion“.
By Sameerah Balogun
British Fashion has a long and multifaceted history that continues to influence contemporary culture on a global scale. Whether it’s the classic tailoring of Savile Row or the anti-establishment ethos from counter-cultures, it’s influenced by both renowned houses and trailblazers. Some of them known globally, some recognised locally, and some disregarded. With multicultural London at its centre, Britain has a reputation for breaking ground in fashion and culture from past to present. Britain also has a reputation for its colonial imperialism, and while it may not exist in the scope of the past, its internalisation within societal systems very much resides in the present. Thus, we find ourselves in the tight grip of a capitalist society, which, to its core, is rooted in the modernist idea of difference, making life easier for some and challenging for others. Giving recognition to a few but overlooking many. Past generations of creatives have been telling their stories against the backdrop of socio-economic and political events by means of fashion. Narratives disguised in an item of clothing or a certain style entered the mainstream, fundamentally reshaping the fashion landscape. Yet to whom do we owe this transformation, and what are they telling us?
To be, or not to be, British?
The Morgan Stanley Exhibition, The Missing Thread: Untold Stories of Black British Fashion at Somerset House, sheds an overdue spotlight on British culture’s debt to its Black creatives. Past generations have profoundly impacted not only fashion but also music, club culture, photography, art, and design—oftentimes without having been given credit where credit was due. Curated by the Black Oriented Legacy Development Agency (BOLD), the exhibition is filling the gaps in our collective knowledge of fashion history by reviving untold or forgotten stories of Black artists spanning from 1970 to the present day.
Entering the exhibition, one steps into the world of the Windrush Generation, passing through The Fragile House by Harris Elliott. Steel and sartorial measuring tape not only represent the instability felt by people upon their arrival in Britain but also embody the strength “wrapped in hope and precise skill, that was a tailor’s craft.”Centering the theme of home, the first room tells the story of the journey of the Windrush generation to the UK and, in the hopes of a new life, only to be faced with racial injustices, which heightened in the 1970s and 80s. The photography and artwork in this room reflect the transformation of those feelings into resistance. As Pogus Caesar puts it in the accompanying documentary to the exhibition, “It was about this notion of the land of milk and honey. And of course, when they got here, there’s no money and the honey was sour.”
A central theme is the idea of ‘Britishness’, symbolically manifesting as the Union Jack emerging from various corners of the room. Portrayed in an image by Vanley Burke from the 70s or the Empire Waistcoat from Christine Checinska’s The Arrival exhibition in 2003. The struggle of Black people in claiming the UK as their rightful new home, and thus the label of British due to the racial politics at the time, wonderfully unveils itself in Paul Gilroy’s book There Ain’t No Black in the Union Jack. Discussing the intricate relationship between race and nation and setting itself apart from a wall covered in newspaper articles about the community’s pain and achievements alike. Emphasised by a conversation with Stuart Hall in the Passing the Cricket Test movie from Keith Piper from 2015, they paint an interesting picture of when society allows Black bodies to claim Britishness only in connection to achievements, compared to when they are dehumanised, for they are neither British nor human.
Hinting at BOLD’s connection to Fashion Academics Creating Equality (FACE), the inclusion of Paul Gilroy and Stuart Hall nods to the sociologist's important mark on cultural studies with their theories about identity formation in the diaspora, which ultimately resides within the struggle of difference and the development of double consciousness. Black Britons were forced to adjust to their racist environment, whereas they escaped within creativity, forming a culture of their own. This is ultimately evident in the next room, dedicated to the art of tailoring, whereas fashion became the embodied performance of identity, rooted in the idea of self-expression and freedom.
Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Four Twins, 1985 via TimeOut
Facing a loss in the initial security following their immigration, systemic barriers made it difficult for the Windrush to be placed in sufficient jobs. Highly adept tailors were deemed unskilled, leading to their abandonment, along with some seamstresses, forcing them to take matters into their own hands. In this segment of the exhibition, the bespoke suit becomes a commentary on Britishness through its symbol of respectability and status while functioning as a form of armour. “You may only have a pound or a penny in your pocket, but you’re dressed like you got a million dollars"—an effect achieved by the garments of Ninivah Khomo, Bruce Oldfield, and Ozwald Boateng. The latter became Creative Director of Givenchy Homme in 2003, making him the first Black helm of a Parisian fashion house under LVMH, contrary to popular knowledge about Virgil Abloh.
Style narratives eventually led to the concept of performing identity, featured in the next room. Instead of conforming to an ordinary suit, this part of the show confronts cultural outputs that make Black creatives stand out and feel seen. The gaze of white Brits shed a spotlight on Black people, and they, in turn, took up their own merit in the realms of sport, music, television, and film, developing social, cultural, and political identities alike. Displaying the development of British street style, it shows early images of Skepta and JME shot by Tim & Barry in the mid-noughties or Skin OBE’s performance at Glastonbury in 1999.
The fusion of music and performance eventually leads us to the nightclub, set in a replicated nail salon. Nightlife has always been a form of escape; people from different backgrounds and communities come together, essentially breaking the confinements of cultural codes through dressing up and socialising. “From a sociological perspective, nightlife contributes to the broader development of creative culture, positively impacting social and political movements while connecting individuals from marginalised communities.” Here, the Black queer community is especially acknowledged, whose influence on the nightlife eventually transitioned from club culture into the mainstream, sealing the fate of the commercialization and appropriation of Black culture. Newspaper clippings show the stylist Frank Akinsete next to Lee Alexander McQueen, while old i-D magazines from the 90s foster an image of young Edward Enninful putting his experiences and knowledge about fashion and culture, as seen on the dancefloor, into words.
Walking through the exhibition, one bears witness to how the racialisation of Black bodies in Britain eventually led to some of the greatest cultural seismic shifts elicited by creatives who explore their personal and political identities within their work. The culmination happens in the fifth and last room, which pays homage to the late Joe Casely-Hayford, who passed away in 2019. With a career in fashion spanning four decades, he is renowned for transforming the landscape of menswear and, later, womenswear, by infusing classic Savile Row tailoring with traces of cultural influence and elements of resistance. The idea of a dual identity, both Black and British, having a sense of self and otherness, is what ultimately defines his collections, as evidenced in the vast display of his archives. The launch of his eponymous label in 1984 began not only his fame within the decade but also an everlasting influence on fashion design at large. From as early as 1987 to 2018, the display shows artfully tailored garments, some of them worn by the likes of U2. One was acquired in collaboration with Chris Ofili, and one bearing the slogan ‘LOVE SEES NO COLOUR.’ Leaving a unique mark in fashion history, he became a trailblazer and paragon for those who would follow, including his own family. Launched in 2008, Joe and his son Charlie founded the luxury menswear label Casely-Hayford, which his son still operates. What they also share is their educational background; both studied at Central Saint Martins (CSM).
Joe Casely-Hayford, i-D Magazine #102, March 1992 The Technology Issue. Photo by Takashi Homma via HeroMagazine
The necessity of decolonising the curriculum
CSM is particularly known for generating some of the greatest designers in our history, from Casely-Hayford to John Galliano and Alexander McQueen. The namesake brand of the latter is the sponsor of the ongoing exhibition REBEL: 30 Years of London Fashion in the Design Museum, which celebrates the 30th anniversary of the British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN programme, which supports the best-emerging fashion design talent in building a global brand. It gives credit to those who were drawn to London’s vibrant fashion culture, captivating their desire for individualism and change through whimsical designs that were not only substantial to the city’s scene but would soon claim centre stage in popular culture. Thus, it features a range of early pieces from young designers who were not only propelled through their education within art school but also driven by the idea of making cultural statements. Finding sustainable design solutions and their passion for the nightlife, dressing up, and collaborating with their friends.
In the first room, Colour Explosion, the silhouettes made of kaleidoscopic fabrics created by the likes of Feben, Ashish Gupta, and Richard Quinn immediately paint a picture of fashion as a colourful contrast to society’s grey backdrop. A timeline on the wall, starting from 1998, gives insight into what the environment looked like, naming important events in the sociopolitical realm and pop cultural space, connecting fashion and the times of crises. Starting with conversations about British fashion and extending to the emergence of online platforms like Instagram and Twitter, over to wars and the fight for human rights.
One consistent factor was increasing fees for art school and the lack of governmental funding options for students. Mentioning Fashion Minority Report and FACE further addresses the critique of art school as a privileged space with curriculums centred around Western and, thus, white practices and knowledge, which can be harmful to people and planet alike.
Art school is an incubator for individuality; institutions like CSM, The London College of Fashion, or The Royal College of Arts put forth creatives who resist the boundaries of the fashion system. Including the first creations of Molly Goddard and Steven-Stokey Daley, it also unveils a bookshelf including Priya Ahluwalia’s Sweet Lassi as well as a visual project by Bianca Saunders questioning the societal confinements of Black masculinity.
Look from Wales Bonner’s Ezekiel Collection, 2017 via Design Museum
The post-art ambition school is to own a brand, whereas Start-Up displays the work of NEWGEN recipients, including Labrum’s founder, Foday Dumbuya, Simone Rocha, and Erdem. Alexander Mcqueen has come a long way from pattern-cutting in his council estate flat to having a globally known brand, whose first-ever collection Taxi Driver from 1993 is highlighted in its own section and is centred around themes of gayness and the nightclub. The Missing Thread explores a similar connection between queerness and the escape into the nightlife, translated into cultural output and expression.
The ‘British’ legacy
As the exhibition continues, its focus moves to designers like Sinéad O'Dwyer, who championed body diversity through draping clothes on the body, or Grace Wales Bonner, whose collections centre the idea of identity in the Afro-Atlantic realm. Themes like sexuality, race, class, and gender dominate the pieces shown, ultimately turning lived experiences into works of art while addressing sustainability as an issue and contributing to creating a new vanguard of cultural changemakers.
Both exhibitions share a common focus on generational legacies within the industry but also the essence of what constitutes British fashion and culture today. Both BOLD and NEWGEN support the building of responsible businesses, fuelled by the idea of changing the fashion industry—whether that means adopting a new, conscious way of pattern cutting or making the cultural landscape more inclusive. As highlighted in The Missing Thread by a quote from Stuart Hall in 1981, “the past cannot speak, except through its archive.” The archives displayed in both exhibitions tell stories that constitute British design, highlighting the intricate relationship mentioned earlier between nation and race. Both archives are comprised of societal confinements and blurred boundaries. In REBEL, however, many stories from young designers revolve around young creatives who were drawn to London from around the world to study, bringing forth garments that blend their cultural heritage with contemporary fashion. These exhibitions reveal that British fashion goes beyond English heritage brands. Instead, it is informed by the multifacetedness of its creatives, who inherently have no connection to the title of Britishness, as they arrived for their education or were rightfully seeking to claim it, as seen with Black people.
It accurately portrays the fashion industry's cherry-picking tendencies when it comes to designating the label of a British designer to non-white individuals, only to then happily associate it with those who have achieved the most success, claiming it as their own. Considering the idea of fashion capitals, there is a fine line between potentially diluting one's ethnicity through adopting the British label and, conversely, gaining recognition on a global scale by being associated with the British identity. This includes, but is not limited to, the constant perception of Black creatives in relation to their Blackness, whether intentional or not. As one designer articulated, “I like to be taken on my merit. I don’t want to be known as a Black designer; that’s why people know me. I want people to pick up a piece of garment and say, ‘Oh, that’s a Charlie Allen. He’s a great designer.”.
Astroblackzine by Nicholas Daley via Design Museum
Conclusion
Being in London has forged exciting and influential careers for some, but it raises the question of whether the scope of its success would remain beyond the borders of Britain and in another country or city not typically recognised as a fashion capital. Essentially, by breaking through systemic barriers and entering the fashion industry in Britain, one is pushed to express individuality through the transformation of lived experience into garments. As a result, they are hailed and acclaimed as designers representing Britain —a position ironically shaped by a nation that created the struggle in the first place. Keep in mind that the Union Jack, while increasingly resurfacing in pop culture as a beloved symbol of national pride, is inherently connected to racism, fascism, and colonialism.
Both exhibitions underscore the importance of archives in understanding the most influential moments in popular, mainstream, and contemporary culture. While Vogue Runway, recognised as the “biggest fashion archive," falls short, The Missing Thread has fortunately filled some gaps in our knowledge, although not completely. The emphasis thus lies on past work, building a base for the future, whereas The Missing Thread ensures that the long-overdue conversation on race sparked by George Floyd’s murder in 2020 is kept alive, while REBEL concludes with the notion of change-makers, including designers like Samuel Ross or Saul Nash. So let’s actively listen, understand, create a dialogue, and strive for actual change.
The Missing Thread is showing at Somerset House until January 2024. The REBEL Exhibition at the Design Museum closes its doors to the public in February.
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The Missing Thread - Ends January 2024
REBEL: 30 Years of London Fashion - Ends February 2024