Contemporary Wardrobe
The Street Fashion Archive
Contemporary Wardrobe is the UK’s leading sub-culture and vintage street style resource. Preserving the identities of the past to inspire the styles of the future.
A collection of over 20,000 unique items available for hire, research and exhibitions, Contemporary Wardrobe has been a working archive for over 40 years, inspiring new generations of designers, stylists, filmmakers, artists, students, researchers and fashion enthusiasts throughout the UK and beyond.
Clothes that
changed the world
Every piece tells a story, preserving not only the styles of the time, but the social, cultural, and political histories of post-war Britain, told through what young people wore on the street.
Mod
Rocker
Biker
Skinhead
Punk
Teddy
Beatnik
Outlaw
Hippy
Drag
Dandy
Bohemian
Spiv
Wideboy
Hep Cat
Bobby Soxer
Swing Kid
Raver
Skater
B-Boy
About The Collection
Preserve, curate, inspire, celebrate.
Contemporary Wardrobe is a not-for-profit organisation with a mission to preserve, promote and improve access to the collection for research and inspiration. Originally set up in 1978, by costume designer & stylist Roger K. Burton to supply the Film, TV and Fashion industries, Contemporary Wardrobe is now recognised as an unrivalled archive of street fashion and youth style that stands apart for its deep commitment to clothing as social history.
Clothing of the bad,
beautiful & misunderstood
Experience the collection like never before. Featuring over 1300 examples of rare vintage clothing from the archive including detailed photographs with untold stories of the clothes origins, alongside many previously unseen fashion and film stills. Rebel Threads cements the collection’s importance as both an academic and cultural resource.
Visit the archive