Subcultures: Then and Now

‘Subcultures: Then and Now’ is a research project exploring subcultural style and its impact on fashion, curation and culture.

Our starting point is 'Streetstyle', the groundbreaking exhibition held at the V&A in 1994, curated by Amy De La Haye, Cathie Dingwall and Ted Polhemus. On its 25th anniversary, we're looking back and considering subcultures now: how we research them, document them and seek to understand their significance in contemporary culture.

We encourage you to explore, be inspired and use our responses to spark your own.

Subcultures: Then

The Rocker display from the ‘Streetstyle: From Sidewalk to Catwalk’ exhibition.
Gathering information for the exhibition involved a “whole new way of collecting and we had to devise new strategies for doing it.”
Specialist advisor (New Age Travellers) Sarah Callard in Brighton, 1993.
“First and foremost, I’m a skinhead”: John G. Byrne’s customised Levi’s jacket.

Acquiring a Teddy Boy suit for the exhibition was very difficult, revealing “the incredible poignancy these objects have.”
A New Age Traveller outfit worn by Fraggle with label waiting to be taken into the gallery and dressed.
Patricia (Pat) Essam, who became a Teddy Girl in 1954.
Photograph of Pat Essam (left) with friends c. 1954, donated to the exhibition.

Specialist Advisor Derek Falconer ran Crazy Clothes in Notting Hill and donated his leather Northern Soul outfit for the exhibition’s Funk section.
The high fashion spin-off for the Rasta and Funk subcultural outfits was this patchwork coat by designer Pam Hogg, early 1990s.
When Dr Beryl Gilroy emigrated to England from Guyana in 1952, she brought with her clothes made by her dressmaker (including this suit.)
“Girls were wearing things like Wonderbras so we decided to make it in Chanel-style quilted fabric, with a sort of bustier top” — Pascale, of her donated Ragga outfit.

The outfits of Fraggle and her partner and child, 3 Travellers who lived in the Forest of Dean to protest the trees being cut down.
“John Stuart lent Rocker clothing and again we couldn’t get people to part with their original jackets… They’re imprinted with wear and memories.”
Amy recalls going to collect clothes for the exhibition from Rocker John Stuart and finding them thrown on the street or loaned to someone.
“If we don’t take the dirt off the psychobilly’s boots why do we at the time routinely take the dirt out of the 18 century dress?"

Subcultures: Now

Image by Olivia Rose

Slashie-style: portraits and conversations

Photographer, director and artist Olivia Rose captures a series of portraits of individuals whose personal style demonstrates the hybridity and subjective meaning of contemporary streetstyle.

Image by Amy de la Haye

Streetstyle 25 podcasts

A short podcast series featuring a diverse range of curators, students and artists sharing their stories and insights about fashion, style and subcultures.

Streetstyle: From Teddy Boys to Grime Kids, installation image by Katy Davies

Exhibition - Streetstyle: From Teddy Boys to Grime Kids

Hosted in east London, the birth place of Grime, the exhibition will feature rare archives and exclusive visuals capturing the essence of Grime.

Close up image of magazines and vintage photographs

Image by Tory Turk

Symposium - Streetstyle: 1994-Now

A symposium exploring historical and contemporary subcultural dress through image-making, identity and representation from curatorial, artistic and scholarly perspectives.