DIRTY LOOKS: Fashion Exhibition Scrapbook

The Dirty Looks exhibition at the Barbican might be the most creatively energising fashion exhibition I’ve seen in years. It’s rare to walk into a show and feel genuinely overstimulated by ideas — not because it’s confusing, but because it speaks directly to the things I’m drawn to as a stylist and art director: subversion, texture, deconstruction, decay, reconstruction, and the beauty of imperfection.

This post isn’t a traditional Dirty Looks Barbican review — it’s more of a personal field note. A first-draft scrapbook of the pieces that stayed with me and the techniques I can’t wait to experiment with.

Standout Pieces & Designers at Dirty Looks, Barbican

Andrew Groves – “Cocaine Nights” (1998)

A dress made entirely from razor blades. Aggressive, fragile, and technically fascinating. I want to look deeper into the base structure that holds the blades together.

Hodakova – “Conventional Collection” (2023)

A garment constructed from antique spoons, tarnished and textural. The insect-like surface instantly reminded me of McQueen's final collection.

Maison Margiela – Artisanal Collections

From ceramic vest pieces (1989) to cardboard-effect pleating (2018) to Galliano’s sculptural 2024 creations — a masterclass in illusion, surface, and unconventional materials.

Robert Wun – “Wine Stain Gown” (2023)

Bejewelled stains; the elegance of an “accident” turned into couture.

Ayumi Kajiwara – “Crocodile Tears Liquor” (2023)

Keys, badges, metal, rubble — a wearable scrapyard and one of the most compelling pieces in the show.

Elena Velez – “Bad Land” (2025)

Distressed romance and ruined, ruffled beauty.

SR Studio CA LA – “Apparitions” (2021)

Bleached green denim that looks cool and completely chemically transformed. One of my favourite RTW looks in the exhibition.

What I Loved — and What I Wanted More Of

My only real disappointment was the lack of detail about how the garments were made. When pieces involve burning, bleaching, rusting, or sculpting unconventional materials, I want to understand the process behind them — especially in a show that celebrates experimental fashion.

But maybe the omission is intentional. It leaves you curious, hungry, and ready to research further.

Fashion Techniques I Want to Explore After Dirty Looks

The last page of my scrapbook became a studio to-do list — techniques I want to try, refine or research after seeing the exhibition:

• rusting

• burning

• bleaching

• waxing

• kintsugi (and related mending philosophies)

• oxidising

• acid washing

• fraying

• controlled explosive effects

• abrasion

• burying fabrics

Expect DIY tests, experiments, failures, and unexpected discoveries over the next few weeks. I want to translate the exhibition’s energy into something wearable, personal, and entirely my own.

xM💎