LONDON STAGES IMPERFECT FASHION
At the Barbican Centre in London, the exhibition Dirty Looks: Desire and Decay in Fashion explores the fascinating tension between attraction and deterioration in clothing. Bringing together historical garments, contemporary creations and archival pieces, the show highlights how imperfection, wear and even decay can become powerful aesthetic statements.
The curatorial approach challenges traditional notions of beauty, celebrating garments marked by time, fragility and transformation. Designers such as Alexander McQueen, Rei Kawakubo and Maison Margiela are featured, illustrating how fashion often draws strength from destruction and reinvention.
Visitors are invited to reflect on the role of imperfection in fashion’s narrative, from frayed fabrics to experimental silhouettes. This exhibition reveals that desire and decay, far from being opposites, can coexist to create a unique, provocative and deeply human form of beauty.
