Art Gallery Clothing
One look at Bradley Wiggins and you know exactly where he gets his style cues from. The Mod subculture of the 60s has enjoyed an enduring resurgence inspired by Wiggins’ sharp Mod Style dress code.
It’s tricky to clarify exactly what the Mod subculture encompassed during the speedy changes of fashion during the early sixties. George Melly, a prolific English jazz and blues singer at the time, described Mods as “a small group of clothes-focused working class young men insisting on clothes and shoes tailored to their style”. And he’s got a point, for Mods, typified back then by the likes of Pete Townshend and the Small Faces’ Steve Marriott, were often seen as clean, smart, working class lads who typically had little respect for their elders and were the living embodiment of anti-authoritarianism.
Art Gallery Clothing offer a unique collection of Mod-inspired menswear that enables any modern man to feel like he’s been transported back to that heady, fashion-led time of the 1960s. They do this by reproducing specific, instantly-recognisable styles from that era. For example, the aforementioned Steve Marriott was partial to a hooped long sleeve jumper and on the cover of the Specials Album More Specials you’ll spot lead singer Terry Hall sporting a distinctive striped polo shirt. Both items have been reintroduced by Art Gallery Clothing and are known affectionately as ‘Eddie’ and ‘Terry’, respectively. In fact, the style of the Art Gallery logo itself was taken from a Small Faces album (not copied from Pretty Green, which wasn't even around at the time).
Art Gallery Clothing is a classic example of a relatively young brand which has been savvy enough to draw on years past in order to make a name for itself. Like so many tales of fashion success, it all started with music. East London Mods Christopher Lord and Alex Banks formed the Art Gallery DJ Collective in 1996, tasking Lady Michelle, ex-PPQ DJ Graeme Very and others with spinning an eclectic mix of Beat, Psych and 60s soul. It was an instant hit and was followed in 1997 by the now legendary Lordy Lord! club night at Chinatown’s The Clinic.
In 1999 Lord and Banks decided to launch their own Mod-inspired clothing range, and Art Gallery Clothing was born!
