The Terrace Rooms of Somerset House were awash this month with 20 years of fashion history as Dazed and Confused celebrated two memorable decades in the industry. Making It Up As We Go Along charms exhibition-goers with all the irreverent attitude, youthful bravado and two-fingers spirit of Jefferson Hack and Rankin’s nineties-born tome. Coinciding with the publication of a book in the same name, a stylish selection of the most iconic spreads from the publication charts a chronological journey from the magazines humble beginnings in 1991 to the glossy aesthetics of the publication at present date.

Jefferson Hack and Emma Reeves curate to capture some of the most poignant moments in the magazines cult history; from Rankin’s signature portraits of Beth Ditto, Blondie and Kate Moss to Dazed pin-up boy Luke Worrall’s first shoot with newly instated Nicola Formichetti as Creative Director. Editorial shoots from Nick Knight, David Sims and Terry Richardson serve as a perceptible reminder of the magazines stellar alumni whilst interviews and contributions from Damien Hirst, David Lynch and Thom York set the barometer for dynamic content. Angular mirrored sculptures reflect the plethora of fashion darlings adorning the walls, making the magazine come to life in all the magnificence of Somerset House.

Room 1 captures the first ten years of the glossy and with it, the emergence of 90’s grunge culture. Haunting portraits of Kids heroine Chloe Sevigny, Harmony Korrine and Iggy Pop decorate the walls in various states of undress. Jeurgen Teller’s Interstella Overdrive exposes a youthful and fresh-faced Kate Moss on the brink of success whilst a Jarvis Cocker cut out standing in line at a fast-food bar echoes back to the first stirrings of New Labour’s Cool Britannia in Rankin’s 1996 Pulp, It’s A Rap.

Room 2 heralds the last decade’s fascination with celebrity culture, including the iniquitous Fake Issue Cover starring the ‘is-he-or-isn’t-he’ Jacko-alike. Gareth Pugh’s first issue cover in 2004, featuring the red and white balloons from his BA collection, is a fantastic example of how Dazed has become a stage for designers to break into the public stratosphere. Showcasing the work of a little-known Central St Martin’s graduate is risky business, but as founder Jefferson Hack states “everything came from a spirit of curiosity – a core attitude that is purely informed by the feeling and mood of the times.”

Further into the exhibition and we are treated to a vibrant and colourful collection of images from the late noughties in Room 3 entitled Scary Monsters and Super Creeps. Mark Pillai’s 2009 Tye-Dye story features a very on-trend, rainbow-haired Anastasia Kuznetsova who could give the BLEACH girls a run for their money. Elsewhere, photographs of London’s Youth come to the forefront of the magazine’s current history, highlighting the entrepreneurial do-it-yourself culture that has emerged from the internet, blogging and social networking. The exhibition concludes with a tribute to the late Alexander McQueen and the magical and inspiring ideas he contributed to the magazine before his untimely death. This includes his 2001 uber-creepy Salo installation and groundbreaking disability shoot Fashion-Able, which Hack sites as a turning point for the magazine in terms of capturing headlines on a global scale.

Despite turning twenty, Dazed and Confused shows no sign of losing the reckless and wanton teenage abandon it has consistently seduced us with every month for the past two decades. Now immortalized in print, the exhibition and accompanying book is perfect for any fashion aficionado interested in British style press and magazine culture.

Making It Up As We Go Along runs until 29th Jan 2012 at Somerset House, W1

Posted on December 22, 2011 at 3:03:52 by Liz Connor