The Vulgar: Fashion Redefined

​I first read about The Vulgar: Fashion Redefined exhibit at the Barbican Center in the September issue of  Vogue. I circled the words, folded the top corner of the page, and put on it my list of places I must go.  
The exhibit was imagined and curated by Judith Clark who paired fashion, from ancient Greece and this season Gucci, with exerts from psychoanalyst Adam Phillips' discussions on the definition of Vulgar.
The model of what is vulgar in fashion has changed and been redefined over the past centuries. One may see revealing skin to be vulgar or that showcasing one's wealth through over the top garments is in poor taste. The exhibit walks you through time periods and ideologies demonstrated by the most amazing and historically important garments. 

​One of my favourite things about the exhibit was seeing garments and collections from the past five years that have been topical or that have had backlash from the media, such as Mochino and Gareth Pugh. Seeing these pieces in the flesh and displayed in a gallery I saw them more as art or that they didn't belong among other designs. 

​When you stand a John Galliano for Dior couture gown next a 2015 Raf Simons dress are the two comparable? Is one vulgar compared to the other for its representation of the brand and level of design, or are neither of poor taste and simply in separate relms from each other?

 
​Seeing the Chanel Grocery Store show recreated, from the cutout pink tracksuits to the Chanel branded cans of beans, paired with the theoretical descriptions of vulgarity was a feast for the fashion eyes and mind. 

Excerpt from the exhibit guild

The exhibit is open until the 5th of February and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is in London; whether you love fashion history, psychoanalysis, or simply want to see some amazing garments pulled from archives and runways. If you can't make it to London you can read the collection of Adam Philips' essays on the subject matter of vulgarity and see how inline they are with your ideas of what is vulgar in fashion. 

"Vulgarity exposes the scandel of good taste" 

- Adam Philips