That’s Not My Age

If you love photography, music and style, you’ll love the latest exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. The Face Magazine: Culture Shift features more than 200 prints from the cult publication. Like many who grew up in the 1980s, my interest in style actually started with a teenage appreciation of music. Before the fashion industry, as we know it today, even existed, we had our favourite bands ( The Clash, Joy Division, Echo & the Bunnymen, Blondie) to look up to. And, with a bit of DIY and making-do could recreate a look. Often I’d go clubbing in a combination of clothes bought at jumble sales, items nabbed from my dad or younger brother, and stuff I’d stitched together (badly) by hand. The Face magazine captured the spirit of the time. Founded by Nick Logan ( a former NME editor and the creator of teen mag Smash Hits) in 1980, The Face was the very first style magazine. It was hugely influential.

The Face Magazine: Culture Shift exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.
Photo: © David Parry/ National Portrait Gallery

The exhibition highlights what a creative period the 1980s and 90s was – and how much more freedom photographers, stylists and journalists had back then. Stylists, such as: Ray Petri, Isabella Blow, Judy Blame, Karl Templer, Sarahjane Hoare, Melanie Ward, were a relatively new phenomenon; collaborating closely with photographers to bring a story to life. The phrase ‘stylist’s own’ came into being at a time when clothes were grabbed from here, there and everywhere, and only occasionally from a fashion PR’s office. And, rather than expecting contributors to work for a pittance ( or for free), magazines had money to spend on photography and journalism. Sadly, rates have nosedived  since I was on the masthead of a magazine. We have lived through another culture shift ( make that: industrial revolution); it’s all about online, now. The Face Magazine: Culture Shift exhibition is nostalgic, vibrant and joyous, it made me hanker after the good old days when we weren’t governed by algorithms and big brands.

Voici Paris photo by Stéphane Sednaoui, styled by Babeth Dijan, June 1988

Alongside all the energetic photography, the captions written by contributors are informative and interesting – not the usual artspeak gobbledy-gook.

The Face Magazine: Culture Shift exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.
Photo: © David Parry/ National Portrait Gallery

And The Face Magazine: Culture Shift made me realise: I need to accessorise a bit more….

Ms Dynamite photo by Gemma Booth, May 2001

Photographed by Jamie Morgan and styled by Ray Petri, Jan 1984. The Sade front cover is also by Jamie Morgan ( April 1984)

On leaving the exhibition we had a lovely chat with a couple of style-magazine-super-fans. Avid collectors of back issues of The Face magazine, Abigail Masters and Josh Silero were outside creating content.  The new generation of style-lovers.

(The Face closed down in 2004 and relaunched in 2019, in print and online).

Photo: Neil Mackenzie Matthews

The Face Magazine: Culture Shift exhibition is on at the National Portrait Gallery until 18 May 2025.

More  outfit inspo HERE and style buys HERE.