LONDON — The Design Museum is celebrating all things Blitz and glamour with its upcoming exhibition, “Blitz: The Club That Shaped the 80s.” Celebrating how London’s Blitz nightclub influenced ‘80s club culture, the show will run from Sept. 20 to March 29.
“It’s remarkable that so much of 1980s pop culture can be traced back to the Blitz scene. That the club night only ran for little over a year, but shaped a whole decade is really astonishing,” said Danielle Thom, the exhibition’s curator.
“So 45 years on feels like the right time to explore the club’s enduring legacy in a major exhibition, as well as its continued impact today,” she continued.
Boy George and other Blitz Kids in 1980.
Courtesy of Design Museum
A hub of outrageous fashion and futuristic music, the bar drew a boundary-pushing crowd of young creatives who went on to achieve massive success. Fixtures at the club, who were called Blitz Kids, included Boy George, Spandau Ballet, Visage, fashion designer Stephen Linard, couture milliner Stephen Jones and “Game of Thrones” costume designer Michele Clapton.
“The Blitz Kids were among the brightest young talents of their generation and their impact on fashion, music and design is one of the underexplored stories of ’80s culture in Britain,” said Tim Marlow, director and chief executive officer of the Design Museum.
“How a niche club night launched numerous glittering careers and helped to revolutionize not just cultural but social attitudes in London and beyond is at the heart of this exhibition,” he added.
Stephen Linard at the Blitz club.
Courtesy of Design Museum
Pieces on display range from the Blitz Kids’ wild wardrobe, such as Steven Strange’s leather garments designed by David Holah, cofounder of Bodymap, to ephemera like the Yamaha synthesizer Spandau Ballet used to record their first album.
The 2012 book “We Can Be Heroes: Punks, Poseurs, Peacocks and People of a Particular Persuasion” will be reprinted to accompany the exhibition. It is available for pre-order at designmuseumshop.com and is approximately $53.
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