Club to Catwalk

The 1980’s were a weird and wonderful era where an ‘anything goes’ attitude surfaced in London’s embryonic club scene. The merge of music and fashion saw clubbers experimenting with outlandish style using a DIY approach to express creativity and individuality. Whether the look was new romantic, goth, fetish, raver or high camp, it was a decade where youth rebelled against ‘hard times’, thatcherism or whatever was the going concern at that moment and exerted by sheer force their mark on nightlife and leisure forever. There can be no doubt how influential this period was on today’s fashion (you only have to walk through London’s Brick Lane to catch a blast from the past with acid wash denim, beanie hats and Dr martens worn by a new generation of ravers) Miss Mannequin, of course, remembers these times fondly as if it were only yesterday; customising her leather jacket, cut off denims and using her articulated limbs to strike a vogue-like pose in the most exclusive clubs where only the fashion elite were welcome!





Installation image courtesy and copyright to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.



For some the 80’s may now be a bit of a hazy period; for others a magic era which they never experienced or like Miss Mannequin a time she will treasure. The latest exhibition at London's V and A  Museum 'Club to Catwalk' proved irresistibl, documenting through fashion what life was like for the young in the 80’s.

Now we all know my Darling Readers that a lady never reveals her age, this show however took me straight back to my wild child years of the Blitz, Mudd Club and Wag and so many other venues I hung out in. Eeeks, ahhhs and wows repeatedly left my perfectly painted lips as I wandered through the Gallianos and the Gaultiers, flabbergasted by memories of what we used to wear, the sheer chutzpah of some of the outfits, some of which remain in the wardrobe at Mannequin Towers (perhaps it’s time for a clear out).

Divided into two separate areas; the downstairs 'catwalk' area provides a snapshot of the most creative designers working in London in the 1980’s, displaying an informative selection of Levi Strauss commissioned denim jackets by a group of 22 London based designers. John Galliano, Paul Smith, Jasper Conran and John Richmond were amongst a selection of designers who went on to become more famous, alongside the more obscure yet no less influential style gurus including Stephen Lineard and Willie Brown. The exhibits were well displayed and brought to life by proportion london’s male mannequin collection – METROpolitan and female mannequin collection – FASHIONISTA.

Moving upstairs to ‘the club’ area, the electric atmosphere is recreated with clever lighting and a soundtrack which includes many new romantic dance floor classics. All the better for being less crowded and sweaty than a Soho basement, on show are designs by the likes of Body Map, Vivienne Westwood, and fetishwear expert Pam Hogg. A small enclosed space has been used to good effect showing film footage and imagery from many club nights (look carefully Dear Readers and you will spot me sociliasing with the likes of Leigh Bowery and Philip Salon).

Installation image courtesy and copyright to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Who am I kidding the 80’s was fabulous! Now where did I put that Spandau Ballet cassette…

Club to Catwalk is open until the 16th February 2014.For more information on this exhibition please visit

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/exhibition-from-club-to-catwalk-london-fashion-in-the-80s/about-the-exhibition/ 

This is a museum ..... not a snoozeum!

After my recent jaunt out to take in the sites of the town last week, Miss Mannequin is thrilled to report on what is happening over at The Museum of London, where five gloriously informative galleries have recently been relaunched. Not even a mile from my Barbican showgirl's home, this magnificent institution charts life in our fair capital. From the Great Fire of London onwards, the lower galleries tell the tale of the developments and grand schemes of London and more importantly perhaps, the everyday lives of its citizens. Miss Mannequin was most especially fascinated by the costumes and paraphernalia of London society (high and low brow) and came across many of my old mannequin mates.

A particular highlight was the beautifully engineered Pleasure Gardens gallery (of which i showed you a sneak preview last week), where Miss Mannequin imagined how much more interesting life was during the 18th and 19th Centuries when pleasure gardens were the height of novelty and fashion. Privately owned and often sited on the outskirts of great cities, pleasure gardens could be accessed (at a small fee) for the public to take a turn in, enjoying tree lined avenues, fountains, orchestras amongst the greenery and the like. Imagine taking refreshment in a night-time walled garden with fireworks popping overheard as you admire the fashion parade passing by you. Quite delightful. Miss Mannequin wholly approves and thinks we should resurrect such amusement immediately .... on the other hand, is that not what shopping malls and high streets have become these days? Not quite the same me-thinks!

The other high-point i want to tell you about from the galleries, is the exquisite mantua style Fanshawe dress on display. Named after it's owner (former Mayoress Anne Fanshawe), this beautifully preserved garment is exhibited on a cutaway mannequin (it takes all kinds - invisibility was never my thing though!). This wide, but narrow style of dress was popular around 1750 and held it shape with the aid of a panniered underskirt constructed from whalebone. Taking up to six months to weave the fabric alone, the expanse of material could be grandly displayed to show not only its beauty, but also the wealth of its owner! A bit of a problem for getting into carriages however!

Miss mannequin admired many other exhibits and will divulge more soon. In the meantime, you really should visit and .... don't forget to let me know what you think.

The Museum of London is at London Wall, London EC2Y 5HN

Penthouse to Pavement, Museum to Mall!

Miss Mannequin is all of a dither this week, thinking how to work the traumatic double booking that has occurred in next week's diary. How can it be that two so momentous occasions have colluded to take place on the same day: 28th May? Both in her hometown and both with her presence at their launch essential.

Firstly, the launch of the new galleries at her museum of choice: The Museum of London. But a hop, skip and jump away from my showroom on the cusp of the city, this beguiling museum is opening five new galleries featuring some fantastically co-ordinated stories documenting the lives, occupations and pastimes of Londoners throughout the ages. With a wealth of stunning costumes and artefacts on show (from the Lord  Mayor's coach to an exquisite Fanshawe dress), the galleries document the drama of London’s rich history from The Great Fire right through to the present day. I am especially interested, as my good friends at Gems Studio provided 167 custom made mannequins for this ambitious venture. The whole show is capped with a Pleasure Gardens inhabited by the most beautiful array of period costumes, topped off with gorgeous wire wigs by the talented Yasemen Hussein and delicious hat confections by brilliant Philip Treacy. How could I possibly stay away?

On the other hand 28th May brings about that other great fashionista event of this year - the launch of Sex in The City Pt 2! (Without this movie Miss Mannequin would cease to be so relevant)! The whirlygig of excitement is just too much to bear!!.

But wait a moment – I have the solution. If I plan carefully, I could do both. That’s it – I’ll slip over to St Pauls for the opening of the Museum of London in the A.M. gliding round the galleries, taking notes and improving my mannequin brain, then transfer to the West End in the P.M. for a glittery movie-fest of unrivalled glamour. What fun. I’ll meet you at the museum doors at 10am – you’ll recognise me, I’ll be the stunning blonde with the immaculate pout and a glass base plate under my arm!

The Pleasure Gardens at The Museum of London.

I'm ready for my close up now Mr DeMille!

To be honest ... it's all been a tiny bit boring at the showroom during the Easter holidays. No glamorous clients popping in to visit, so no industry gossip to listen into, not even the reassuring tip-tip-tapping of the computers as they notch up another order. I never thought i'd really miss them, but without the hurly burly of the sales team coming on like the stock exchange on steriods and the scatty om om chanting of the design team pondering on their next great development ... it's simply a little bit dull. I sauntered into the sales office to pass some time looking for a new outfit online and suddenly found myself going through some old photos. I found these in the image bank which i thought i'd share with you from a past photoshoot. Well it can't hurt can it - they'll never know.

Have you ever been to a mannequin shoot? We have them all the time at the showroom. What fun they are ... me and the gang striking a few poses for the next brochure etc. I quite like it ... it means we get a full make-over in the latest look. Those wig-making wonders, the D'Villes, send over some lovely new confections for us and the wonderful Georgie boy pops in to gloss me over with whatever the latest must have look in make-up is (he always has the best new lip colours and the juiciest gossip)! Lovely Mervin (my magic photographer) and that sweet kooky sidekick of his, Miss K, rock up equipped with camera, lights and umpteen bits of high-tech computer equipment to score a few shots of us in action.

Here's a shoot that we did a while back that was based on some Victorian body shapes. Very moody and retro, you can see the inspiration pics above (i think they'd been watching Tim Burton movies that week)!

Mervin brought a fabulous smoke machine and did some great pics of my pal Genevive posing in front of the smog. I love the moody shadows on the floor too. The smoke did get a bit overwhelming at one point - i think they must have forgotten that it was still belching out fog (you can just see me wheezing to the right of the set if you look hard - and to think i gave up smoking over a year ago).

Anyway, i don't think they did a bad job, it made a nice brochure cover and even stretched to a super Christmas card. I'm looking forward to the next shoot - i've got a few poses in mind!!

Well, until we meet again - toodle pip, and don't eat too many chocolate eggs or you'll never squeeze into that new spring outfit either!