The 1990s Episode 8: London Libertines: Galliano, McQueen, Chalayan and McCartney

At the beginning of the 1990s, London’s fashion scene was sleepy and small. But not for long: Following the groundbreaking success of young British designer John Galliano at Givenchy in the 1980s, other young graduates of the London art school Central Saint Martins began to push the fashion world’s boundaries. Hussein Chalayan, Alexander McQueen, and Stella McCartney garnered attention with their provocative presentations, complex image-making, and challenges to established fashion rules, all on very limited budgets—at least at the beginning. Soon the Paris fashion establishment woke up to – and adopted – this new generation of fashion thinkers whose creativity had been forged in the post-punk cultural stew of 90s London. 

Interviews in order of appearance: Mark Holgate, Anya Hindmarch, John Galliano, Hussein Chalayan, Camilla Nickerson, Laird Borelli-Persson, Karen Elson, Andrew Bolton, Shaun Leane, Jenny Capitain, Tonne Goodman, Stella McCartney. 

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