Following the launch night of a new exhibition ‘Nottingham Subcultural Fashion in the 1980s’ which will be at the Bonington Gallery until Saturday 10 May, Fashion Editor Addie Kenogbon-Harley, takes a walk down memory lane of 1980s Nottingham, with exhibition co-curators Tom Godfrey, and Dr Katherine Townsend.
Picture the scene, Nottingham Greyhound Stadium and Rock City have just opened, Nottingham Forest F.C has just won its second UEFA Champions League in Madrid, Notts County F.C has been promoted to the First Division under Neil Warnock, and the iconic Royal Hotel has opened its doors on Wollaton Street to guests for the first time.
This is Nottingham in the 1980s. An era fuelled by creativity and a fierce love for its thriving independent scene.
Its fashion, nightlife and music scene formed the heartbeat of the city, birthing a range of captivating subcultures, and helping to put Nottingham on the map as a place that marched to the beat of its own drum.
It’s an era which is currently being celebrated in a new exhibition at Bonington Gallery, with the aim of connecting people to the spirit of 1980s Nottingham. The exhibition, which will be open until May 10th, follows an open call for materials from locals who lived through the decade, to create an archive that will help preserve what is considered by many to be a pivotal moment in the city's cultural history.
It features a selection of garments, fashion magazines, photos and archive material from the period, offering a glimpse into Nottingham’s underground scene, and marking a celebration of the talented designers whose iconic looks influenced a generation - not just here in Nottingham, but across the nation.
Perhaps the most eye-opening pieces displayed are the wealth of real life pictures which offer a through the window snapshot into what it was like to party, socialise and live in Nottingham through the decade, with gravity defying hair, bold make-up and grunge-fuelled looks
“It's such an exciting story for Nottingham,” said Tom Godrey, Director of Bonington Gallery. “I've always been really drawn to interesting things happening outside of London, and not just things that look at London and try to emulate it. And actually a lot of the vision in the designers here [in the exhibition] is really singular and really independent. And it's not about trying to make up for the fact they're doing it from a region. Actually it's really progressive.”
“I think it's something that has the potential to bring back a community of people who all hung out together in the ‘80s, but maybe haven't had an excuse to congregate around something since,” he adds. “So there's definitely a nostalgic sense in all of this, but what people have said to me is, ‘Wow, I just thought that was just normal life, and now seeing it like this, I can really see how special and unique it was.’ And I think that's what you can do with an art exhibition. You can almost put a frame around it.”
Following the expansion of Paul Smith’s first store on Byard Lane to locations in London, Paris and Tokyo in the 70s, a new wave of independent labels were bucking the trend of moving to London, and unlike many fashion brands of the time, were remaining to true their rebellious Nottingham roots.
The city became a breeding ground for young creative talent, with many graduates from Trent Polytechnic (now Nottingham Trent University) going on to launch their own fashion ventures, and helping foster the city’s creative network.
These included the likes of G-Force, known for its eye-catching iron sculptural signage and distinctive styles that were worn by celebrities around the world, including Cher, Stereo MC's and Eric Cantona, or Olto (now One BC in Sneinton) whose conceptual looks and legendary fashion shows and parties are still talked about by many today.
Meanwhile, Vaughan & Franks who did make the move to London having been stocked in Browns, Paul Smith, Jones, Whistles and Liberty, eventually made the move back to Nottingham, where their shop on Heathcoat Street built a loyal local flamboyant fan base.
Dr Katherine Townsend who co-curated the exhibition alongside Tom, knows first hand the impact of Nottingham’s fashion scene during that period. Today, she works as a researcher, educator, practitioner and professor in fashion and textile practice in the Fashion, Textiles and Knitwear department in the School of Art and Design at Nottingham Trent University. However, back in the 80s, through brands such as Katsu and Cocky’s Shed together with friends and colleagues Sue Watton and Dawn Foxall, she helped create a range of captivating looks which defined an era.
Everybody was either a designer, worked in a club or was in a band, and if they had what we called a straight job, they then also were a hairdresser, or they were very creative in their dress sense. It was a very vibrant and expressive scene
“Myself and Sue had this business called Katsu. We were kind of naive really, but we were inspired,” Katherine says. “We started our own little label in a shared space off King John's Chambers, Bridlesmith Gate. We moved to somewhere called the Works on Carrington street (which I believe is still there) and we met someone called Dawn Foxhall, who was a knit graduate. She had a label called Psalms and we both ended up selling to a shop on Kings Road called Academy One, that was also based in Soho. The guy who we were both selling to there said, ‘Why don't you two work together?’”
And that’s how Cocky’s Shed was born. Launched by Katherine, Sue and Dawn in 1986, the label was located on Stoney Street but received widespread recognition for its pioneering work with printed lycra, gaining coverage in magazines such as 19, Company, Fashion Weekly and Cosmopolitan. Their looks became a staple of the evolving clubscene, with the team selling to independents across Europe as well as in the USA and Japan.
“Part of why we actually formed our label was because there were lots of small businesses in Nottingham, lots of independents. So, there was already that culture where you felt you could contribute and be supported by like-minded people,” says Katherine.
“We didn't really plan it, we just thought, ‘Well, we can't afford to go to London, let's start here.’ And everybody was either a designer, worked in a club or was in a band, and if they had what we called a straight job, they then also were a hairdresser, or they were very creative in their dress sense. It was a very vibrant and expressive scene.”
Walking through the exhibition paints a picture of the bold individuality of those living in Nottingham during that period, with different styles all coming together in one place - highlighting the ethos of the time, where people could be themselves free of judgement, where skinheads could be seen with ravers and vibrant dressers with those who favoured dark grunge-y tones.
Visitors will see looks and styles of yesteryear ranging from a bold velvet zebra print cropped biker jacket, to tie-dyed denim, bold printed knits to tasselled leather jackets. But, perhaps the most eye-opening pieces displayed are the wealth of real life pictures which offer a through the window snapshot into what it was like to party, socialise and live in Nottingham through the decade, with gravity defying hair, bold make-up and grunge-fuelled looks.
Pictures from The Garage Club which launched in the autumn of 1983 and had the tagline “where hip-cats meet hub-cats” show the impact Nottingham’s nightlife had on the city, with music and fashion so often walking hand in hand.
Taken by Bryn Jones for Brian Selby who owned The Garage, they illustrate the coming together of the city’s subcultures around a common theme of a love for great music and good times, and a range of music genres including pop, funk, electro and House. Based in Hockley, it helped cement the district’s name as a hub of the city’s vibrant alternative culture, and became well-known for its friendly atmosphere, sprawling labyrinthe layout and its noisy gigs hosted in partnership with independent labels such as Earache and Doublevision / Blast First.
It’s something that was widely covered in Nottingham’s own independent alternative style publications of the time Despatch, Relay and Débris, which regularly featured vibrant photos from nights out at The Garage as well as fashion shoots from local and international designers.
Newspaper Despatch was founded by Ron Atkinson in 1981 with its pages bringing together Nottingham’s music and fashion pages. A well-read newspaper, it often featured pieces on Nottingham’s independent boutiques, as well as coverage of fashion shows hosted at Nottingham nightclubs, bars and clubs. The exhibition hosts a range of issues which serve as a time machine, capturing the life and times of the people who helped shape the city’s creative culture and thriving scene of today.
“Despatch was quite significant in that it had a good number of issues and it really captured the fashion culture at the time,” Katherine says. “We luckily received an archive of a load of issues. And they really tell you the story of Trent Poly, and the graduates and new labels of the time.”
Reflecting on how 1980s Nottingham compared to now, Katherine adds, “It was a lot more individual then. I do think people were able to take more risks. It wasn't easy, but I think that's changed a bit. The relationships people had with clothing was different too. They didn't have as many clothes. We had doubles of photos from The Garage of people wearing the same things on different weeks, but in a different way.
“I think Nottingham used to be more vibrant, and there used to be more choice. We've lost a lot of smaller shops and smaller businesses which is sad.”
Over the years, many have considered Nottingham to be the creative hub of the East Midlands, and that was never more apparent as in the 80s, when teenagers from places such as Derby would travel to Nottingham to get their hands on eye-catching garms they couldn’t find in their own cities.
One such youngster was Ian Trowell, who provided curatorial consultancy and research for the exhibition, while also penning a series of articles which can also be found at the exhibition. They detail his time spent living in Derby during the period, but regularly travelling into Nottingham to get his fashion fix.
In one of his essays, he details “My 1982 diary opens with [a] yellow ‘NOTTINGHAM’. There’s no immediate context or explanation, just a joyous statement of intent, a switch of allegiance from the plastic punk haunts of Derby… Nottingham had a popular punk shop in the middle of Hockley, proudly anachronistic, selling bands tee-shirts and studded belts. It was a few doors down from G-Force, and I always read it as a watermark of where I’d come from.”
The current exhibition serves as a true celebration of the city’s vibrant and rebellious spirit, through the eyes of those who lived it, and Katherine believes it’s long overdue.
She says, “There's been a lot about London and 1980s fashion, but there hasn't been a lot about Nottingham. We wanted to put the record straight for Nottingham. To say, this happened in cities all over the country in the 80s, and actually Nottingham was right in the centre of the country, but was one of perhaps the most vibrant. And, there's a lot of people here who aren’t known, but they're known locally, and people are still very fond of those labels.”
Catch the exhibition until 10 May at Bonington Gallery, Dryden St. To find out more, visit their website.
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