A new London exhibition, "Dirty Looks: Desire and Decay in Fashion," opens at the Barbican Art Gallery, exploring how designers have used dirt, distress, and imperfection as acts of defiance and new forms of beauty. Curated by Karen Van Godtsenhoven, the show features over 60 designers from Alexander McQueen and Maison Margiela to emerging upstarts, tracing moments like the rise of anti-fashion in the 1980s and trends like bogcore. It runs until January 2026 and is the Barbican's first fashion-focused show in eight years.
This exhibition matters because it positions fashion within a broader art dialogue, challenging the typical glamour of fashion exhibitions and reflecting on how decaying fashion resurfaces during times of social change, such as ecological crisis and the rise of global conglomerates. By highlighting the subversion of luxury and the use of grime as a regenerative force, the show offers a critical lens on contemporary culture and the cyclical nature of fashion rebellion.