Blitz Kids still Defining London Style

The Design Museum Exhibition Celebrates the Iconic 1980s London Nightclub with over 250 artefacts

Due to a diary conflict I was unable to attend the opening of the Blitz show at The Design Museum, so went there this weekend. It was packed. One woman sang along to Ziggy out of tune but joyous, another told her daughter about her make up routine (it took hours). This is the first major exhibition celebrating the legendary and Blitz club night. Even though it only ran for just 18 months from 1979-1980 in Covent Garden, it generated a creative scene that had an enormous global impact on popular culture in the decade that followed: from fashion and music, to film, art and design.

The Blitz Kids scene launched the careers of many stars, including chart-topping performers Spandau Ballet, Visage, Boy George, Sade, Ultravox and Marilyn as well as a long list of designers, artists, filmmakers and writers — from milliner Stephen Jones, filmmaker John Maybury to DJ Princess Julia and of course uber-Londoner BBC broadcaster Robert Elms.

I have known seminal Blitz Kid and former Warren Street squatter, Stephen Jones, since my fashion assisting days when we went on an appointment to select hats for a shoot for The Face in his earliest basement studio. He went onto make my wedding veil, and as always as you will hear in this podcast, is charm personified. I used to think this was down to Stephen being a Gemini, now I think it is because he is truly lovely.

To hear more from Stephen and I, please listen to this FRONT ROW TO FRONT BENCH podcast from 2021.

Listen on Apple here.

Listen on Libsyn here.

Buy Tickets to Blitz - The Club That Shaped The 80’s - on until 29/03/2026 - here.