Street Style: British Design in the 80s
by Catherine McDermott
Rizzoli, 144 pages, 1987
Street fashion isn’t all about clothing, and I think sometimes we forget this. Thankfully, English writer Catherine McDermott hadn’t when she wrote Street Style: British Design in the 80s. To her, street style encompasses everything from graphic design and textile design to architecture and product design. This is precisely how it should be, and ultimately the scope of the subject matter she writes of offers readers a fascinating (and full) picture of the post-punk ’80s aesthetic in the UK.
McDermott covers all the key players in the early-1980s British design revival. Prolific graphic designer Peter Saville who made his name designing album covers for the likes of New Order, Joy Division and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark gets his due, as do textiles artists Hilde Smith and English Eccentrics. The varied content and broad definition of design gives the book a context others of its ilk often lack, but does not in any way mean fashion is left out. It’s the book’s anchor and the usual suspects (Vivienne Westwood, Betty Jackson, Katharine Hamnett, John Galliano and the Bodymap crew have their work appropriately dissected and analyzed as well.
Heavily illustrated and in full-colour, Street Style has long been a staple in my personal library, a book I return to over and over, always noting something new or discovering a detail previously overlooked. The only nit-picky issue I have ever had with the book is its somewhat misleading title. Published in 1987, it’s not an account of a decade of ’80s design, but rather one of early-to-mid-’80s post-punk looks. It’s very specific and while this is a good thing in so many ways, anyone seeking a sweeping overview of 1980s UK style may be disappointed. Not me, however, as I’m sure I’ll continue to return to its pages again (and again).
