Radical impact
Fashion revolutionary Judy Blame has sadly passed away aged 58
Top image: courtesy of Judy Blame
Legendary stylist, designer and fashion revolutionary Judy Blame has sadly passed away aged 58. A trailblazing architect of London’s counterculture scene, Blame’s unique DIY vision has become an enduring symbol of British fashion and creativity.
Judy Blame, The Face (1986)
Having run away from his Devonshire home at the age of seventeen, Judy Blame arrived in Manchester via London. It was the tail-end of 1977 and Manchester visionary Tony Wilson was finalising his blueprint for what would soon become Factory Records. It was here, amongst the nascent Madchester scene that Blame felt at home. Surrounded by the likes of Peter Saville and Malcolm Garrett and a thriving DIY punk scene, he discovered an aesthetic and attitude that would later shape his distinctive aesthetic.
In 1978 Blame followed Garrett down South. From Manchester’s Hacienda to the peacocking night crawlers of London clubs such as Heaven and Taboo, Blame immersed himself in an underground culture that mirrored his free-spirited nature. A product of the early-80s London squat scene, Blame found himself amongst flamboyant faces such as Boy George, Princess Julia and the late Leigh Bowery, and it was here that he really began creating. Utilising found objects such as safety pins, buttons, bottle tops, keys and plastic bags, Blame resurrected these everyday items into glimmering charm-like assemblages – galvanised armour for a generation of DIY magpies – which would become a trademark of his prolific output.
“Amongst the nascent Madchester scene that Blame felt at home. Surrounded by the likes of Peter Saville and Malcolm Garrett and a thriving DIY punk scene, he discovered an aesthetic and attitude that would later shape his distinctive aesthetic.”
This ability to re-purpose the ordinary into the extraordinary has been an unwavering and defining facet of Blame’s oeuvre. With the zeitgeist blowing between his legs, his agenda-setting spirit has never faded. Need proof? Look no further than this last year’s SS17 collections: from Charles Jeffrey’s salvaged trinket accessories to Christopher Shannon’s quadruple denim pieces through Matthew Miller’s flock of badges, Blame’s impact continues to rock the runway.
R.I.P to my friend Judy Blame who was beautiful, talented and arch as hell. Fashion has a huge void in it and London has lost a legend! pic.twitter.com/CcgLGiv0SP
— Boy George (@BoyGeorge) February 20, 2018
This vast impact comes as no surprise given Blame’s exhaustive body of work, like fashion’s own Forest Gump, he was always at the epicentre of nascent cultural movements. In 1985, he helped set up the radical House of Beauty and Culture (a craft collective at the heart of the London club scene in the late 1980s) and as a member of the late photographer Ray Petri’s ‘Buffalo Boys’ Blame styled a cultural era, creating some of the most radical and enduring imagery of British pop culture. Shifting his focus, Blame later became art director to pop sensations such as Neneh Cherry, Bjork and Massive Attack, influencing musical trends both on stage and off, and his collaborations with designers including John Galliano, Rei Kawakubo, Gareth Pugh, Marc Jacobs and Kim Jones at Louis Vuitton brought his work into the luxury market.
courtesy of Judy Blame
Blame’s legacy will live on through the many he inspired.