The title “The Vulgar” is clearly provocative as well as the theme that the renowned Barbican Art Gallery in London has dedicated to the “vulgar” concept, showing how this term was developed and interpreted in different ways in a variety of forms of expression – especially in the fashion industry – as centuries went by, from the Renaissance to the 21st century. It’s a careful and deep reflection about how taste, ‘good taste’ in particular, evolved in different eras. Elements that were once considered extremely vulgar are currently accepted and perceived as tasteful. The exhibition especially underlines how fashion represented a proper flashpoint in the perception of taste during the years, creating new expressions of style often winking at vulgarity or celebrating the pleasures related to it.
Therefore, through diametrically opposed visions of taste – for example Jonathan Swift vs Coco Chanel – the exhibition shows “vulgar” and “ good taste” to prove that these concepts are ultimately only a perspective issue: something to be afraid of or something to enjoy.
Various looks from the past collections by Prada and Miu Miu were selected by curator Judith Clarke and feature in many sections of this important international exhibition as a symbol of style that marked an era and introduced a trend.
Prada and Miu Miu
at the Barbican in London
