"Yes, it seems they are direct descendants of 19th century Parisian Bohemians' predilection for lived-in garments, by way of the Surrealists of the 1930s, the Beats of the 1950s, the hippies of the 1960s, punks of the 1970s and the proponents of grunge in the 1990s. All held used and distressed apparel as a badge of honour, turning the dominant notion of clean, perfect fashion on its head."
"The main floor of the Barbican Gallery has been re-imagined by Studio Dennis Vanderbroek to create a radically new setting for displaying fashion. The walls are covered by floor to ceiling drapes, with some of the vivid displays complemented by relevant videos, others laid out as tableaux. Starting with the eight upstairs rooms, each section illustrates a specific phase in the development of dirty aesthetics."
Torn jeans and other distressed garments trace a cultural lineage from 19th-century Parisian Bohemians to Surrealists, Beats, hippies, punks and grunge proponents, each valuing lived-in appearance as a badge of honour. Those movements inverted prevailing ideals of cleanliness and perfection, reframing wear and decay as aesthetic and political gestures. Designers employed experimental techniques to produce decay effects, including burying fabrics to trigger material transformations. A major gallery reconfigured its spaces with drapes, videos and tableaux to present eight rooms that each illustrate a phase in the development of dirty aesthetics and its critique of luxury and consumer habits.
Read at www.london-unattached.com
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