Scala publishes book coinciding with major Fashion and Textile Museum exhibition Outlaws

Scala, an imprint of Batsford, will publish Outlaws: Fashion Renegades of Leigh Bowery’s 1980s London by Martin Green and NJ Stevenson in November. The book’s release coincides with a major exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum with the same name, showing from 4 October 2024 until 9 March 2025. The book was brought to Scala via publishing consultant Daniel Scott.

Outlaws pays homage to the boundary-pushing fashion and styling that defined London’s vibrant 1980s club scene, celebrating the anarchic energy and experimental flair of fashion designer Leigh Bowery and his fellow fashion renegades, who pioneered a unique and daring creative movement.

The book is written by the exhibition’s curators Martin Green and NJ Stevenson. Martin was a regular on the 1980s club circuit and went on to run the legendary nightclub Smashing in the early 90s. He has compiled 30 albums and has a show on Soho Radio. NJ is a fashion curator who has worked on many projects, is widely published and a lecturer at the London College of Fashion. They first met on the London club scene in the 1990s.

Martin Green said: ‘I saw Leigh Bowery in clubs often during the 1980s and every time he was wearing a different outfit and surrounded by the most dressed up people on the planet. Everyone looked at London fashion at that time and we wanted to capture the trailblazing creativity, flamboyance and originality of that era. From the night clubs to the pop charts, we have found rare clothes and photographs that encapsulate that glorious unforgettable decade.’

NJ Stevenson said: ‘The sheer energy and exuberance of the 1980s Outlaws powered us through making this book. Researching the story revealed such an exciting, colourful time in British creativity when this community of young people pushed all the boundaries – as Leigh said, ‘nothing was Taboo.’

Anna Danby, Publishing Director of Scala said: ‘We were thrilled when Daniel Scott introduced us to this timely and vivid project. The book is an explosion of colour that captures the spirit of 80s subculture and celebrates the incredible talent of the designers that came to the fore during this period.’

Outlaws: Fashion Renegades of Leigh Bowery’s 1980s London by Martin Green and NJ Stevenson is published by Scala Books, 7 November 2024. Hardback £35

The exhibition Outlaws: Fashion renegades of 80s London is showing at the Fashion and Textile Museum, 4 October 2024–9 March 2025.