LLOYD JOHNSON: THE MODERN OUTFITTER
A truly influential image–maker, fashion designer Lloyd Johnson helped create the look of rock & roll fashion in Britain from the 60’s onwards, dressing everyone from Iggy Pop to Bob Dylan, via the Beatles , Bowie, Mick Jagger, George Michael and Oasis. Selling out of his boutique Heavy Metal Kids in Kensington Market, and later Johnson’s The Modern Outfitters on the Kings Road, his own designs provided the pop greats with some of their most iconic and dramatic rock & roll looks for over four decades.
Entirely manufactured in the UK, his work featured on the stage, the street, on film and on record sleeves. He was also a visionary of vintage and was buying ‘second hand’ well before the fashion crowd caught on.
The Chelsea College of Art & Design is exhibiting a collection of his work gathered from buyers, store staff, rock & roll stars and collectors, creating a truly one off moment in menswear retailing. Until the 3rd March.
‘If you believe in what you are doing people will be drawn in like a magnet. We didn’t advertise for our staff, they came to us because they believed in what we were doing. They were the best looking girls and boys in London and every night they were out clubbing in our clothes. You couldn’t get a better promotional vehicle than that. Likewise the musicians who bought our clothes, we never did product placement, they found out about us, through word of mouth. If people are wearing your clothes because they want to, you know you’re on the right path.’ Lloyd Johnson 2012 (Guardian Interview)
