Exhibition | North: Fashioning Identity, 2017

North: Fashioning Identity explored contemporary artistic and stylistic representations of the north of England.

The exhibition at Somerset House in 2017 featured contemporary photography, fashion and multimedia work, sitting alongside social documentary film and photography, highlighting how the realities of life in the north of England captured in the mid-20th century continue to influence new generations of photographers, artists and designers.

The exhibition featured over 100 photographs, fashion garments and artworks from a host of renowned photographers, designers and artists including Alasdair McLellan, Corinne Day, Mark Leckey, Jeremy Deller, Alice Hawkins, Raf Simons, Paul Smith, Off White’s Virgil Abloh, Peter Saville, Stephen Jones, Gareth Pugh, Nick Knight, Glen Luchford, Jamie Hawkesworth, plus the likes of Shirley Baker, John Bulmer and Peter Mitchell.

The show looked at the themes and tropes present in these collective visions of northern England and considered why these regions, or representations of them, are increasingly a source of inspiration and still so idealised today.

Many of the works in the show offered personal reflections on the artist’s sense of northern identity, including a number of interviews with northern talent looking at how their home towns have influenced their creative output over the years. It's not just homegrown creatives; admirers from further afield are also shaping and spreading narratives of the North. The international impact of northern style and culture – its music, film, sport, fashion, landscapes and communities – was also showcased in the exhibition, from Belgian-born Raf Simons’ parkas with Peter Savile prints to the (Ben Kelly) Haçienda (design) - inspired designs of American fashion designer Virgil Abloh.