CARNABY STREET CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF FASHION AND MUSIC

CARNABY STREET IS ABOUT TO MARK ITS 50^TH ANNIVERSARY WITH A YEAR OF CELEBRATIONS AND EVENTS.

Since the Swinging 60s this iconic street has been synonymous with cutting edge fashion, music and youth culture. John Stephen opened his first shop His Clothes in Beak Street just off Carnaby Street in 1957, which became a Mecca for mods and started its travels as the hub for male fashion.

The first event launches on the 26 February until the beginning of April and is an innovative exhibition and limited edition book of the same title; ‘Carnaby Street: 1960 – 2010’.   The event will be held at 38 Carnaby Street and will put into context the history of Carnaby from its earliest origins in the 16^th Century to the present day with a focus on the 1960s.

The central feature of the show is a unique 3D timeline which illustrates key people, events and happenings in the area. The show will start right from the beginning, 500 years ago, when Carnaby Street was a green field site with a well and a scarecrow.

It will cover the iconic characters associated with Carnaby’s music heritage such as The Rolling Stones, Sex Pistols and Jimi Hendrix.  The limited edition book will feature images from 60s photographer Philip Townshend and exclusive interviews with people who have lived and worked in Carnaby including The Who’s Pete Townsend.

The exhibition and book are the work of curators and fashion historians Judith Clark and Amy de la Haye, who have organised exhibitions at major international museums including the V and A and Mode Museum in Antwerp.  They are readers and joint directors of the MA Fashion Curation course at London College of Fashion, one of the foremost centres of fashion education in the world.

There will also be a number of historical exhibits, many revealed for the first time, including items borrowed from The Museum of Soho, and pictures sourced from The Museum of London, Victoria and Albert Museum, Getty archive and private collections.

One of the most famous residents of Carnaby Street was William Blake, whose powerful imagery of the plague and documentation of social injustices will be featured.

The heritage material will be displayed alongside newly commissioned artwork by documentary photographer Syd Shelton and illustrator Alice Smith, and a short film by James Norton, commissioned for the anniversary will present archive film footage.

The show will be an insightful glimpse into the famous shopping street and its continued relevance today.  The area’s 12 streets are known for unique independent boutiques, global fashion brands, award winning restaurants and nightlife.  More than 60 per cent of the 135 stores in the area today are independent, with new design talent and concepts nurtured in Kingly Court and The Newburgh Quarter.

The exhibition will be followed by a series of events throughout 2010 to celebrate Carnaby’s 50^th Anniversary including a live music weekend in June and a unique fashion show in September.

carnaby.co.uk

Words Jennifer Butler