The Victorian British male has been described as a hidden consumer, his consumption of fashion undertaken away from the public sphere in the relative privacy of the tailor’s suite. A sense of discretion around the masculine consumption of fashion persisted for much of the 20th century until an explosion in the open promotion and discussion of male sartorial style in the 1960s and again in the late 1980s briefly altered that perception. However, the British male in the 21st century and the designers who work to dress him have returned resolutely to a mode of dress that echoes his 19th century counterpart. British men are reclaiming their heritage as purveyors and consumers of a dress style that is uniquely personal and inflected with an irony common to much of British design.

This exhibition presents the work of over 60 contemporary British designers and menswear brands. Defining masculine ‘types’ into six major categories (The Gentleman, Hoxton Dandy, Terrace Casual, Neo-Modernist, Celebrity Tailor and New British), 21st Century Dandy seeks to illustrate how the Brummelian understanding of dandyism has continued to influence British menswear.

The exhibition was co-curated by Professor Christopher Breward (Victoria & Albert Museum) and Alice Cicolini. The exhibition was designed by product designer Andrew Stafford with graphic design by Miles Murray Sorrell (FUEL).

21st Century Dandy launched at the Moscow Centre of Arts, Moscow, in June 2003 and moved to the Arts Museum in Krasnojarsk, Siberia, in September. The exhibition then toured to Budapest, Hungary, in October 2004 before moving to Kiev, Ukraine, in November. In January 2005, it will go on to Zagreb, Croatia.

For more information please contact: Gillian Dingley