Grime and glamour collided at the opening of Barbican’s Dirty Looks

When you think of a fashion archive, you typically think of pristine clothes, conserved in special garment bags, and locked away for an extra special occasion (or until Kim Kardashian gets her hands on them). Every now and again, though, fashion isn’t afraid to get a little bit grubby. ICYMI, this is the focus of the new show Dirty Looks at the Barbican.

“Fashion’s frequent association with ideas of perfection and glamour have long seen dirt deployed as a powerfully emotive symbol of resistance and liberation,” as Karen Van Godtsenhoven, who curated the show with Jon Astbury, told Dazed of the exhibition. We witnessed this first hand at the opening of the London show earlier this week.

For starters, the exhibition itself featured grimy fashion looks from the likes of Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Maison Margiela, and Jean Paul Gaultier, plus Dazed faves including designers Michaela Stark, Yaz XL, and jeweller Alice Potts. Between them, the clothes ranged from the taboo to the primeval, mirroring a shift in our relationship with our own bodies and Earth’s natural systems.

A slew of designers also turned up IRL for a tour and drinks reception, with Michaela Stark, Sinéad O’Dwyer, Robert Wun, and Paolo Carzana stepping in front of photographer Connie Burke’s lens. Take a closer look at the crowd in the gallery above.

Running until 25 January 2026, the Barbican’s Dirty Looks offers a full survey of filth and decay in fashion, tracing its resurgence in the work of contemporary designers. From stained jeans to ruined evening gowns, it places London’s style scene on track to get dirtier than ever.