WHAT? Dirty Looks: Desire and Decay in Fashion

WHERE? Barbican Art Gallery, Barbican, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS

WHEN? Now until 25 January 2026

WHY GO? For fashion on another level. Ripped, wrapped, torn and knotted — yes, we are talking fashion. Waste not, want not is the underlying theme behind this adventurous new fashion exhibition that highlights pertinent issues in an industry frequently facing controversy.
From faded jeans with deliberate slashes to distressed fabrics treated to look ragged, designers have long satisfied our simple desire to mess things up a bit.
It explores our fascination for getting “dirty” from every angle and digs deep into the life cycle of a designer garment.
What could be earthier than dirty wellies? Opening the show are Queen Elizabeth’s wellies (she had tiny feet) alongside those of that other queen of muddy fields, Kate Moss.
They set the scene for rebellious designer originals from the likes of Vivienne Westwood, who loved a frayed skirt, to Hussein Chalayan, who produced an entire show around the notion of burying and exhuming clothes.
Slashed, slit and stained, designers have over decades redefined what constitutes beauty in clothing.
Staged throughout on a cream backcloth, mannequins are dressed in every “dirty” tone and hue under headers like The Nostalgia for Mud, and the overall effect provides much to ponder.

IN THE KNOW Featuring over 60 designers, the exhibition is accompanied by a programme of events across the Barbican as part of the irreverently titled Dirty Weekend (29–30 November). Expect boundary-pushing performances and “joyful disruption,” according to the organisers.