Remembering Taboo, the party that reshaped ’80s London nightlife

One night in 1985, Martin Green walked into the boxy basement of Maximus in Leicester Square expecting an average night out in London. Only it wasn’t. The place was quiet, but filled with character – everyone was dressed in ruffles, gold leather, outrageous prints and thick layers of face paint. “There weren’t a lot of people there, but there was this incredible energy to the place,” Green recalls.

It was the second night of Taboo, a new but striking club night. Green watched as smoke machines turned on and ‘Into the Groove’ by Madonna played on repeat with people screaming and dancing around. He sat down at a booth by the dancefloor, and as he looked around, he felt like he was “watching a movie”.

With their exhibition Outlaws: Fashion Renegades of 80s London, on view at the Fashion and Textile Museum, Green and fashion curator NJ Stevenson revisit the fabled nights of Taboo, celebrating the renegades who used fashion and flair to push the boundaries of gender, art, and creativity. A time capsule of London’s ’80s fashion and nightclub scene, the exhibition features the original garments and accessories from over 30 designers, as well as vibrant photographs taken during its heyday. With the help of artistic director David Cabaret’s mannequins, there are preserved outfits worn found on the dancefloor, from a red and green spotted coat to a black and white catsuit, while paying tribute to its founder, Leigh Bowery.

“It’s about showing all the little pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that made up this kind of creative ecosystem with Taboo at the centre of it,” Green says.

Opening its doors in 1985, the club was a “manifestation of extreme fashion, extreme artistic expression, and extreme behaviour,” Stevenson adds. “Taboo is part of the trajectory of the story of London nightlife – It’s influential and memorable because of the confluence of extreme characters.”

Bowery was one of those. Born and raised in Australia, he moved to London in 1980 and began designing eccentric outfits for his friends to wear as they ventured the club scene. He was a performance artist looking for his stage, and Taboo became that podium.

“A lot of Leigh was about proving himself by making an impact, and doing that in as many different ways as he could,” Green says.

Fashion subcultures were varied and distinctive throughout the ’80s, from the plaid and chains of punk to the coloured hair and heavy eyeliner of new wave, each an act of rebellion against the last. Just before the decade began, a movement called New Romantics, marked by glamorous and theatrical outfits, imbued the youth culture. But only a few years later, around 1981, the movement fizzled out as a new one entered the scene: Hard Times, signified by ripped jeans and oversized coats.

“Leigh’s first few collections were of the hard times style, but then he ended up rebelling against that as well,” Green says. “He went back to the dandy style that was popular during the new romantics era, but it was even more flamboyant and was mixed with ’70s glam rock. Everything was glittery and shiny, but also kind of sexual in a way that the New Romantics never was.”

Six months after his first, Green went back for another visit to the club night, only this time Taboo was unrecognisable. With queues around the block and people fighting to get in, this was the place to be, and certainly the place to be seen. Pop stars and luminaries like Boy George and John Galliano were frequent attendees, rendering media attention and TV cameras that surrounded the place. Green went on to become a DJ himself and his own club night, Smashing, started in 1991 in the same venue as Taboo.

While Taboo’s lifetime was short lived – its doors closed in 1986 – its 18 months of existence created an indelible moment in London culture. A safe space for designers and performance artists, the night cemented its reputation as the place where rebels and outlaws became the fashion visionaries of today.

“You were supposed to be able to do anything you wanted to do,” Stevenson says. “That was the whole point of Taboo.”

Outlaws: Fashion Renegades of London is on view at the Fashion and Textile Museum until March 9, 2025.

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