The Tate Britain is set to launch a major exhibition this autumn titled The 90s: Art and Fashion, curated by Edward Enninful, former editor of British Vogue. The show will explore a decade that reshaped Britain's cultural identity and established conditions still relevant today.
Exhibition Highlights
The exhibition features work from nearly 70 artists, photographers, and designers, including the Young British Artists, Alexander McQueen, and Damien Hirst. Among the key pieces are Steve McQueen's first major film Bear (1993), Chris Ofili's Turner Prize-winning painting No Woman, No Cry (1998) created in tribute to Doreen and Stephen Lawrence, and Keith Piper's video reflecting on sport and national identity.
Spotlight on DIY Attitude
The exhibition opens with a focus on the period's "do it yourself" attitude, showcasing photography by Corinne Day, Nigel Shafran, and Juergen Teller. These artists defined the "anti-fashion" grunge style for publications like i-D and Dazed & Confused. Also featured are Barbara Walker, Jenny Saville, Gillian Wearing, Tracey Emin, Sam Taylor-Johnson, and Sarah Lucas, known for their anarchic spirit and frank work on agency, identity, and class.
Youth Culture and Club Scenes
The decade's youthful energy is captured in films and photographs, from Mark Leckey's 1999 film Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore to images of clubbers at the Haçienda in Manchester and Bagley's in London. The exhibition also explores conceptual movements, including Hamad Butt's response to the Aids crisis and Hirst's formaldehyde-filled sculptures.
Fashion and Art Intersection
Visionary designers who blurred the lines between art and fashion are featured, from Alexander McQueen's provocative presentations to Hussein Chalayan's clothing inspired by everyday objects. The exhibition concludes with artists and designers who critiqued Britain's past and future, such as Yinka Shonibare, Maud Sulter, Vivienne Westwood, and John Galliano, questioning diversity, representation, style, class, and national mythology.
Curator's Perspective
Edward Enninful described 1990 as a "moment of transition," noting that London was "raw, unstable, and full of possibility." He emphasized that the decade's defining energy was a "refusal of hierarchy" and a belief that new voices should be heard across art, fashion, music, and image making. As a young black man from Ladbroke Grove, he highlighted the importance of access and finding a place in spaces not built with him in mind.
Enninful stated: "The 1990s established conditions that are still with us – the merging of high and low culture, the politicisation of fashion and image, and the emergence of diversity as a creative force." He added that the exhibition is "an invitation to look again, to reconsider that decade as something still unfolding."
