Design Museum to celebrate London as the powerhouse of global fashion in major new exhibition

The Design Museum today announces that it will open a major exhibition in autumn 2023 celebrating London’s contribution to contemporary global fashion. 

Image: Priya Ahluwalia

Opening to coincide with London Fashion Week 2023 in September, it will be the first major exhibition to focus solely on the creativity of young designers in Britain. REBEL: 30 Years of London Fashion sponsored by Alexander McQueen will be a landmark collaboration with the British Fashion Council (BFC) and will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the BFC’s NEWGEN programme.

Image: JW ANDERSON

NEWGEN is a British Fashion Council showcasing initiative that supports the best emerging fashion design talent and aims to build creative, responsible businesses for the future. Since being established in 1993, it has helped nurture the careers of hundreds of designers and businesses, launching many of them onto the international stage. Alumni include Alexander McQueen, Christopher Kane, Charles Jeffrey, Christopher Raeburn, Erdem, Henry Holland, Kim Jones, J.W. Anderson, Mary Katrantzou, Molly Goddard, Roksanda, Simone Rocha, Stuart Vevers, Priya Ahluwalia, Saul Nash, Grace Wales Boner, Bianca Saunders and many more.  All will be spotlighted in the new exhibition. 

Image: Sinead O'Dwyer SS23

REBEL will be one of the most comprehensive contemporary fashion exhibitions ever staged in the UK, acknowledging the work of over 300 designers and featuring over 100 objects – from innovative and trailblazing garments to films, drawings and memorabilia. It aims to deconstruct the creative process and inspire the next generation of fashion designers by showing how they can develop a career in the fashion industry. It will be guest-curated by BFC Ambassador for Emerging Talent Sarah Mower MBE, and co-curated by the Design Museum Senior Curator Rebecca Lewin. Sarah Burton, Creative Director, Alexander McQueen will chair a curatorial committee.

While BFC NEWGEN draws talent from across the UK (applicants must have their companies based in Britain) London has been a major inspiration and catalyst for the programme’s young designers. REBEL will put London’s vital and continued role in the careers of emerging design talent centre stage. From some of the UK’s best fashion schools being based in the capital, to the draw of the city as a hub of freedom of expression and inclusivity, the city has nurtured nearly all the NEWGEN designers since its inception, whether as the place they studied, first showed a collection, or established their network.

Image: Priya Ahluwalia

NEWGEN is the BFC’s most established designer development scheme globally and recipients are identified by their creativity, strong aesthetic and innovative approach to design. It offers designers financial support and mentoring to help them future proof their businesses. 

Location: 224-238 Kensington High Street, Kensington, London W8 6AG. Date: 16 September 2023 - 11 February 2023. Price: TBC. Tickets will go on sale in June 2023.