Outlaws: Fashion Renegades of Leigh Bowery's 1980s London accompanies the show of the same name at the city's new Fashion and Textile Museum. The book is put together by DJ Martin Green and writer/lecturer NJ Stevenson, both curators and stalwarts of London’s 1980s club scene.
Outlaws celebrates the anarchic energy of the era with a focus on the avant-garde, experimental designs of Leigh Bowery and his fellow fashion renegades, including John Galliano, Stephen Linard, BodyMap, Pam Hogg, Rachel Auburn and Wayne Hemingway.
This unique and daring creative movement sparked an explosion of outrageous fashion. Outlaws features specially commissioned photography of original outfits crafted by 28 trailblazing clothes designers, accompanied by first-hand accounts from musician Holly Johnson, DJ Mark Moore, artist Peter Doig and photographer Dave Swindells, as well as rare photos and flyers from club nights where these outfits were worn, such as Bowery's legendary Taboo.
The book captures a subculture that defied norms and pushed the boundaries. It is a tribute to the visionaries who reshaped British pop culture and blazed a trail to high fashion.
Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd, 208pp, 22.5cm x 28.5cm, illustrated hardcover, First edition 2024