New exhibition project

Archivist Deborah Carnegie collects 1950–present photos to show how Black British women shaped UK nightlife style.

Black British Women Redefine Saturday Night Fashion Across Generations

Archivist Deborah Carnegie has spent months building a photography archive that traces Black British women’s Saturday night fashion from the Windrush era to today. The collection gathers photos from family albums, nightclub photographers and friends, and was shown for the first time at London College of Fashion’s Fashioning Frequencies exhibition before the show closed and Carnegie began searching for a new venue. The project centers the pre-night out rituals—the hair, clothes, gossip, and the small acts of making do with limited resources—that became a form of expression and community.

Carnegie notes how the faces and outfits in the archive reflect a long, lived influence on UK fashion, from colorful runs of 60s and 70s styling to the bold silhouettes and subcultural aesthetics of the 90s and 2000s. The images feature scenes from bedrooms and club doors, emphasizing hair as a focal point and the practice of dressing head to toe as a daily act of identity. She highlights stories from Windrush-era relatives who stitched outfits at home, turning material scarcity into distinctive looks rather than a barrier to style.

The project reframes fashion history by centering a community often erased from mainstream fashion narratives. It shows that Black British style has long influenced trends—from color-forward choices to the use of Caribbean and African influences in UK wardrobes. This archive also raises questions about access and recognition: how many influential moments happened in black communities outside glossy magazines and polished runways? The work invites audiences to see fashion as a social practice rooted in shared spaces, family memories, and improvisation rather than exclusive spectacle. By linking past and present, Carnegie suggests that a living archive can reshape who gets to claim UK fashion history and why it matters.

Highlights

Fashion history is a conversation that keeps shifting with every new gathering.