For so many, football will always be synonymous with other subcultures; fashion, music, art, all come into play.
For those, it was never just about 22 blokes (or women) kicking a ball about. It was about a sense of community and belonging. It was about the lifestyle. It’s was about having an identity.
Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery has announced a ground-breaking new exhibition combining fashion, football and art, as told from the terraces of the stadiums.
Simply called, ‘Art of the Terraces’, the exhibition runs from 5th November 2022 to 12th March 2023, and is the first major exhibition to tell the story of a movement that defined sports culture of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, and has had a lasting impact on football fashion and culture to this day.
This pioneering exhibition considers the culture of football ‘casuals’, which began on Britain’s football terraces in the late 1970s. By the 80s, football’s casual culture was at its peak. Violence on the terraces was escalating as groups of supporters tried to out to one another. But with it they sported a smart casual look that was being adopted by fans up and down the county.
“This wasn’t just a group of kids following fashion and wearing the latest trends, these kids were creating their own trends and style. The clothes, the attitude and ultimately the match defined the culture.”
Dave Hewitson
Through photography and art, ‘Art of the Terraces’ turns the focus on the clothing brands and sports footwear, music and encounters between rival groups of football supporters which defined an era and generation.
Pauline Rushton, Head of Decorative Arts at National Museums Liverpool, said: “It’s been our ambition for a long time to hold an exhibition of this kind at the Walker. Terrace culture originated among football fans here in the North West in the 1970s, and it’s difficult to overemphasise quite how far-reaching its influence has become.
“We’ll consider the highs and lows of going to the match, and the sense of identity and belonging that could be discovered and signalled to others through wearing a certain pair of trainers or branded sports top.”
Pompey Casuals
A collection of 32 photographs across 20 pages in a limited edition A5 Zine that focuses the culture of football casuals around Portsmouth FC during the 1980s.
Dave Hewitson, exhibition partner and creator of the 80s Casuals website and clothing brand, said: “This wasn’t just a group of kids following fashion and wearing the latest trends, these kids were creating their own trends and style. The clothes, the attitude and ultimately the match defined the culture.”
“To be asked , “Where d’ya get yer trainees from?” was the ultimate accolade… It meant you were up there with the fashion dictators and trendsetters…”
Dave Hewitson
The story of the movement, its wider significance in British and European popular culture and its artistic legacy will be told through more than 100 paintings, photographs, graphic designs and fashion items, as well as video and installation art.
This movement created a whole new approach to fashion, which still inspires brand loyalty today, and has attracted a new generation of fans of retro and classic sportswear and footwear. National Museums Liverpool is the first British museum to present the story of this sub-culture, which has had significant and far-reaching influence.
What’s more, it’s a ‘pay what you think’ exhibition. If visitors enjoy ‘Art of the Terraces’, they can pay what they think is appropriate, to support Liverpool museums and art galleries. Check out more here.
If you enjoyed that, you may also like Pompey Casuals in pictures, where we speak to lifelong Pompey fan Jake Payne about the culture, lifestyle and fashions of Portsmouth fans in the 70s and 80s.
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