UNDERGROUND AND ART

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Here is Underground’s pick of exhibitions and events not to be missed if you are in London during the next couple of months:

We’re Not Here To Sell Clothes: The Making of BLITZ Fashion

Launched in the UK in 1980 alongside  i-D, Blitz was a style magazine set up by two Oxford students, Carey Labovitch and Simon Tesler. It documented clubbers in Heaven, Taboo and the London venue that shared its name. A name which we also adopted for our iconic winkle picker Blitz boot.

The magazine’s shoots have been archived in a book, As Seen in Blitz and London’s ICA is hosting a series of talks this weekend, organised by Iain R Webb who worked as fashion editor on the magazine from 1982 to 1987 and who also edited the book.

We’re Not Here to Sell Clothes puts London’s 80s vibrant club culture on the spotlight and precedes Club to Catwalk, a major exhibition of 80’s fashion housed at the V&A from July.

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UNDERGROUND AT SUNDAY BEST

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Sunday Best is an independent boutique that opened its doors in 1971 in Lancashire and since then has homed a unique collection of womenswear, accessories and shoes.

Their search for unique, original and striking pieces from around the world has secured them a Winner of the Daily Telegraph Magazine’s award heralding them as ‘Best for Womenswear in Britain’ in 2011. Alongside brands such as J Brand, MinkPink and Vivienne Westwood, the shop offers Underground classics including the single sole, boot and wedge Wulfrun and the Barfly creepers in store and online.

We talked to Jan, the owner of Sunday Best, who said that Underground first caught her attention when the whole Sunday Best team wanted to wear our original creeper shoes. Here is what else she had to say in the full interview below:

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UNDERGROUND AT THE MET BALL 2013

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Inspired by punk and founded in its aftermath, Underground became the footwear of choice for members of the subculture who originally embraced a DIY ethic, independent spirit and personal expression.

Stomping their feet to the fast, rebellious beats of The Ramones at CBGB in NY and The Sex Pistols, whose first gig was at Central Saint Martins in London, followers of the movement that became known as PUNK styled their studded leather jackets and safety pin covered t-shirts with creepers, steel caps and winklepickers.
Decades later a new exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art highlights the influence of punk on high fashion, featuring original costumes, film, music videos and contemporary designs inspired by the subcultures’s seditious aesthetic.

With a theme in honour of the PUNK: Chaos to Couture exhibit, the museum hosted their annual Met Ball fundraiser, this week to celebrate the opening. Among the celebrities, fashion designers and models who made an appearance at the infamous event was Alasdhair Willis, husband of Stella McCartney who wore Underground Hacienda creepers. An authentic punk style which showed itself to be forever a cult classic, almost thirty years after inception, especially when donned with a leopard print jacket.

The PUNK: Chaos to Couture exhibition will be on view from May 9 through to August 14, 2013 in New York.

FAMOUS FIRST RECORDS AT UNDERGROUND

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A hub for music fans and artists since the 60’s and home to our flagship store, Berwick Street saw thousands of music artists and fans head down on April 20th to listen to bands play live and to purchase special releases available exclusively at record stores participating in Record Store Day 2013.

As part of the festivities, at number 8 we played a rock and roll DJ set that revisited the brand’s history with songs by The Beatles, Joy Division, Oasis and Primal Scream, played on 7” records. We held a retrospective on how music has inspired our original footwear and hosted a gallery space entitled “Famous First Records”, where we asked iconic Underground fans who appreciate music just as much as we do, to tell us about the first records that they bought. Here’s what they had to say:

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