How can we not remember the iconic magazine and images of The Face? The magazine was the go-to for any would-be keeping up with the latest trends in music and fashion throughout the ‘80s, ‘90s and ‘00s Britian, and adorned many coffee tables and bedrooms. Therefore, when the National Gallery announced the launch of its exhibition The Face Magazine: Culture Shift, I had to pop along, for old times’ sake.
The Face was started by Nick Logan in 1980. The man responsible for music magazine Smash Hits in the 1970s spotted a gap in the market for a monthly magazine aimed at a youth audience interested in a broad range of subjects that weren’t being featured in fashion, teen or music publications. Culture Shift is the first museum exhibition of its kind and explores the impact of The Face in Britian as well as its influences still today. Curated by Sabina Jaskot-Gill, Senior Curator of Photographs at the National Portrait Gallery together with Lee Swillingham, former Art Director of The Face (1992-1999) and Norbert Schoerner, a photographer whose work featured in the magazine throughout the ’90s and ‘00s, iconic portraits from the trailblazing publication are celebrated with fashion, music, and pop-culture colliding to provide a tour of its history.
Left: Winter Sports, by Jamie Morgan, styled by Ray Petri, January 1984. © Photography Jamie Morgan.
Right: Sade, by Jamie Morgan, April 1984. ©Photography Jamie Morgan.
Focussing on the captivating portraiture and fashion photography captured in the cult magazine, the display showcases how The Face shaped the tastes of the nation’s youth. Featuring photographs, magazine covers and spreads, and film, the exhibition uses the medium of portraiture to explore The Face’s monumental influence and its continued impact on the publishing landscape and the worlds of fashion and music. Organised thematically and chronically, Culture Shift includes over 200 images created by over 80 photographers – many of the era’s most talented (Sheila Rock, Stephanie Sednaoui, David LaChapelle, and Corinne Day), as well as the work of stylists and models, many of which have never been outside of the pages of the magazine.
The display opens with a selection of material from the early years showcasing the overlap between music and fashion under Art Director Neville Brody. The magazine’s power to promote music talent from unknown faces to turbocharging careers was on the rise between 1981-1986 and photographers were given the space and freedom to create iconic images.
Left: Back to Life, by David Sims, styled by Melanie Ward, November 1990. ©David Sims.
Right: Kate Moss, by Glen Luchford, styled by Venetia Scott, March 1993. ©Glen Luchford.
The magazine also spearheaded the role of stylists in magazine photography, such as Ray Petri, who in the 1980s redefined men’s fashion within the pages of The Face, introduced black models and using radical fashion brands.In the late 1980s and early 1990s the magazine adopted an aesthetic and style in line with the emergence of acid house music, a new clubbing scene and the explosion of rave culture. Many of the photographs of this era were black and white and featured unconventional models looking natural in contrast with high fashion glamour that dominated the likes of Vogue. Kate Moss’s career was launched in this period from her covers for the magazine.
The Face ceased publication in 2004, but fifteen years later it was relaunched returning to a radically altered publishing landscape. Navigating the new terrain, the magazine has continued Logan’s original vision for a disruptive, creative and inclusive magazine, championing fresh talent in photography, fashion, music and graphic design. Culture Shift closes with work from this new chapter.
The Face Magazine: Culture Shift
National Portrait Gallery
St. Martin’s Pl, London WC2H 0HE
More information and tickets, HERE.
Author: Linda Hunting
Leading image: Global Warming TV, photographed and styled by Inez & Vinoodh, September 1994. ©Inez & Vinoodh/courtesy The Ravestijn Gallery.
All images courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.
Show Comments +