Event Details

In the 1950s a new wave of rock-n-roll and youth culture from America swept the country and the world. The mix of popular images and music with art and fashion would change the way people dressed - blurring the boundaries of commerce, culture and style.

POP! will explore the impact of music, art and personality on the development of the fashion of the times. From the poodle skirts and embellished leathers of the rockers through to the Punk era, this exhibition will take in the cool stylings of the Mods, the high baroque of Psychedelia and the kitsch glamour of 70s retro by designers such as Mr Freedom and Miss Mouse.

Highlights will include items from Elton John’s personal wardrobe, purple flares worn by Donovan, the pop-art fashions of Mary Quant as well as Quant’s early modernist pieces from the original Bazaar, and original pieces from Westwood and McLaren’s Sex. Furniture, original posters and graphics and promotional materials will help to set the scene while an “I’m Backing Britain” display will create a dramatic centrepiece.

The exhibition will provide new insight into 20 years of popular culture from one of the most comprehensive private collections of design and fashion.