New Club Kids by Oggy Yordanov

 London Party Fashion in the Noughties

Welcome to a time when eccentricity was ultimate fashion statement. You are about to embark upon a journey of spandex, leather, glitter, wigs, body art and some female fashions, too. Influenced by the New Romantics and breaking the barriers of Punk, this is the tale of London’s New Club Kids.

Upon arriving in London in 2001, Bulgarian photographer Oggy Yordanov decided to capture the style of London’s original “dressers” in the underground club movement. For ten years he was immensely inspired by his findings and so he decided to put together a glorified scrapbook of all of his favourite looks. Containing minimal but brilliant prose, New Club Kids provides the reader with a brief written description of London’s New Club Kids, an interview with Princess Julia (a woman who has lived through many of London’s creative movements and played an enormous part in founding some of them) and then decides to let the photographs speak a thousand words.

Taking photographs of individuals and groups across a ten year period and in numerous London clubs, Oggy manages to capture the fashions behind the music, the art and the characters that inhabited the city at the time. What is most interesting for me is the fact that Oggy seems to focus particularly on androgynous fashion. In doing this, he almost creates the impression that each person is a piece of art all on their own. Rather than presenting these people as spectators of a fabulous scene, he presents them as a pivotal part of this ludicrous movement – they are the scene. By removing gender from the equation, these people become almost like other-worldly walking art forms and are even more integral in allowing the reader to get lost in such a fantastical time.

After turning through pages of outrageous face paint and wild props and every clothing texture under the sun, I felt as though I had completely developed a sense of what it was to be a New Club Kid and felt compelled to do something daring with my hair that evening. Oggy certainly knows how to capture a moment with his camera; if you’re a fan of fancy dress or have an interest in theatrical makeup, this book will certainly be useful in kick-starting your creative vision.

A la Mode Appraisal: 10/10

New Club Kids is published by Prestel and will provide you with endless fashion and makeup inspiration for £16.99.

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