Leigh Bowery

Leigh Bowery, born in Australia in 1961, was a London based fashion designer and nightlife personality. He is now recognised as one of the most influential art and fashion figures of the 80s and 90s in London and New York. He’s impacted some of the world’s greatest fashion designers such as Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano and Alexander McQueen and also pop icons such as Lady Gaga and the Scissor Sisters.

Growing up, Bowery felt alienated from his suburban surroundings. He studied a fashion course at high school and in 1980, moved to London, something he’d dreamed of doing for a long time.

Bowery loved the club scene and became recognised for the eccentric outfits he’d wear, all his own designs of course. He befriended two other clubbers and the three of them, Bowery, Barnes & Walls, moved in together and stormed the London club scene in Bowery’s designs. They were known as the ‘Three Kings’.

Notorious for his nightlife flare, Bowered opened a disco nightclub called Taboo in 1985, London’s version of Studio 54. It was known for breaking all the rules and embracing pansexual identities. Bowery also found success with designing, showing collections at London Fashion Week and New York and Tokyo.

Through the social empire he’d created, Bowery got connected with the art and theatre circles of London and joined into performance art, often wearing his signature show stopping outfits and accompanying makeup. He also posed nudes for some of Lucien Freud’s later portrait artworks.

Though he was openly and obviously gay, Bowery married long-time friend Nicola Bateman in 1994 before passing away 7 months later from an AIDS-related illness.

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Leigh Bowery - Pictify - your social art network. 2014. Leigh Bowery - Pictify - your social art network. [ONLINE] Available at:http://pictify.com/105452/leigh-bowery. [Accessed 04 December 2014].

LeighBowery | kfb207contemporaryfashion. 2014. LeighBowery | kfb207contemporaryfashion. [ONLINE] Available at:http://kfb207contemporaryfashion.wordpress.com/designers/leigh-bowery/leighbowery/. [Accessed 04 December 2014].