Excerpt from an Interview with Earl of Bedlam, Bedlam Studios, June 2021

‘Earl of Bedlam’ - “When I initially came across ‘Re-Make Re-Model’ in a media article, I wasn’t sure if it was a clothing label or a band?”

‘Mark B’ - “That was the intention. Music and fashion always went hand-in-hand for my generation that grew up during the late 70’s and 1980’s. I often create soundtracks in my mind when I’m designing, so I wanted a name that was ambiguous, and could apply to either. It is obviously primarily paying homage to Roxy, my all-time favourite band, but it also describes the process of fashion on a larger scale, as well as everything basically, that adheres to the cycles of death and re-birth.
Also, I like the idea of ruffling some feathers amongst my clothing design Mayfair neighbours. I might implement a marketing campaign, promoting my next collection in the form of the old concert tour posters, to be plastered on their shop windows in New Bond Street.”

‘Earl of Bedlam’ - “What were your earliest fashion & music interest’s and influences?”

‘Mark B’… “I was an early starter when it came to being in awe and obsessed with music and dress styles. From a bizarrely young age I had an acute radar for what was new and exciting. This has stayed with me, and mostly shows itself in the form of forecasting, whilst designing.
The 1970’s were an amazing time for new creativity within music and fashion. The decade started with Bowie inventing what current young designers and media term as non-gender specific fashion for all sexes, when he wore a dress on ‘The Man who fell to Earth’ album cover, and particularly when first appearing on Top of the Pops, singing ‘Starman’, with his arm around Mick Ronson. He created the first make up wearing, androgynous looking, gender-blurred clothing, male creative icon, Ziggy Stardust. Masses of young people all over the country were inspired, and took that as celebratory licence for self expression of identity, sexuality, and creativity. I soaked a lot of that up through the older kids around me, and also with the DIY ethos of punk which later followed.
My first couple of style obsessions as a 9-10 year old in 76’-77.’ Were Johnny Rotten’s leather jeans, and the soul boy ‘wedge’ hairstyle. I was fascinated by the stereotypical paradox of tough looking kids with very feminine haircuts. Contrasts like that have remained an on-going wonder and influence.”

‘Earl of Bedlam’ - “I agree, the 1970’s was one of the most special influential decades. When you consider Bowie’s dismantling of stereotypical sexual identity boundaries, and the DIY ethos of punk and hip hop, also created then, those three youth movements are clearly seen in everything that is considered new and current within fashion and music today. What were your first involvements with fashion/style genre’s?”

‘Mark B’ - “My first gig was seeing The Clash when I was a 12-year old punk. That opened the floodgates for non-conformist creative dress expression for me. For many of the original crowd, punk had died by 1978 when the Pistols split up. For the younger crowd including me, it’s demise came at the end of 1980, when Adam & The Antz changed from being an arty, fetish inspired punk band, to a pop group with a more commercial sound and look. It was a devastating experience when your favourite bands broke up, but I was driven by that creative inquisitiveness, quite similar to how religious people rely on faith during dark times. Instead of remaining in remorse and not accepting change, many of us created new post-punk scenes, that became referred to as psychobilly’s, gothics, new romantics etc.
Personally, I was very into Westwood & McLaren’s Worlds End pirate collection back then, when I was 14 in ‘81 and regularly jibbing trains, coaches, or hitch-hiking all over the country, following post-punk bands on tour.”

‘Earl of Bedlam’ - “I’m aware that you were involved with the beginnings of some very diverse fashion scenes during the 80’s, from peacocking on the football terraces, to the camp art-school experimental looks on the dancefloors of places like Taboo. What is the story behind that?”

‘MB’… “In 1983 my remaining favourite bands (Martian Dance, Bow wow wow, Theatre of Hate, Southern Death Cult) had broken up, so it was a time for change. I had different groups of friends, into totally different scenes. A few of us from London, as well as small groups from Liverpool & Manchester were travelling back & forward to the Continent acquiring a particular style of clothing. An exclusive sportswear fashion scene had been created at football. It started during the late 70’s, but particularly in 1980 when Liverpool played a European Cup final in Paris, many of their fans liberated sportswear and trainers over there, that were unavailable in the UK. Some of them then made transalpino and inter rail trips back & forth a regular income, as myself and a few others from London also did. Those particular items became really sought after, and were the height of fashion at football. The two main fashion influencers in the country back then, were a South Londoner named Sissons, and young scouser named Boylo (he used to drive a pink jag’ around Liverpool when he was 16 haha) But In 1983 a handful of us in London who were also regularly travelling to the continent, began moving away from the exclusive sportswear scene, and started introducing high-end designer clothes, such as leather jackets by the label Sicons, and a new quite feminine look, like pastel suede jackets, lots of shoulder pads, asymmetric buttoning on shirts etc that designers like Claude Montana and Gianni Versace were creating. It looked like a cross between 1976 soul boys, and early 80’s New Romantics. Again, it had that element of tough looking kids with feminine hairstyles/clothes paradox to it, which played with your senses and messed with your head, which I really liked. And yes you’re right haha, we peacocked it on the terraces, particularly in front of the faces from the away fans. The walk from Liverpool Lime Street train station, to the away end at Anfield for instance, was on par with marching along a Milan catwalk, but a 100 times more exclusive, intense and exciting.

The clothes were great, but the group forming of something creatively vibrant and new, was just as intoxicating. Also to bear in mind, everyone is aware of designer clothes these days, but back then, the general public just didn’t have that awareness. This was during a time for instance, when Gianni Versace had a tiny little shop in New Bond Street, and the only place in England that sold Armani jeans was Browns on South Molton Street. So even if you were one of the small crowds that had awareness of the new scene that was being created, unless you knew someone who was travelling to the continent, then these new labels and styles were virtually impossible to come by, and had a mystique like fictional holy grails.”

‘Earl of Bedlam’ - “When I think of Montana, and Gianni Versace in particular, my mind goes straight to those very defining looks he created at the end of his career, but that earlier period you mention, was stunning. A very different vibe however, to what you and the likes of Barnzley, and Leigh Bowery were doing & wearing a couple of years later at Taboo and Phil Salone’s clubs.”

‘Mark B’ - That’s right, my usual 18-month cycle came around, and it was time for me to experience something new. My life in various new music/fashion genres during the 80’s in particular was like a series of smash and grab raids. 18 months isn’t a very long time, but I would immerse myself in the forming & peak of a new scene, then move onto something new. In 1985 Taboo wasn’t only a totally different vibe regards the environment, people, and clothes that we wore. It was also a different experience for me regards exploring my design creativity purely for internal reasons. What I mean by that is, when we formed the high-end designer fashion scene at football, due to the nature of the groups being very territorial, competitive etc, there was an element of showmanship, a similar vibe to the Mods, who would strive for the flashiest scooters etc.
However, I felt at my very best when the dynamic was reversed into myself, and I was experimenting with clothes design and dressing purely to please me and celebrate my variety of experiences and tastes. In 1985 a small nightclub scene was forming in London when House music and Chicago Garage first started, and I threw myself into it. I was out 4-5 nights a week, going to Taboo, and Philip Salone’s clubs, The Mud Club, Piccadilly Theatre, BPM, Sacro Sanct, Rooster Fish etc. The new style of music that these handful of clubs were playing was a hybrid of house, Chicago garage, rare groove, hip hop, some camp euro pop, and other stuff that appealed to lots of us ex punks, like The Cure and The Cult etc.
I think one of the reasons that small scene and those environments deeply felt like home, is because my design experience became extremely hybrid, exactly like the music that I would totally lose myself to.

Around 150-300 of us were the core group going to the same few clubs. Amongst us were the most influential people creating new underground fashion at the time, like Galliano, Leigh Bowery, the dancer Michael Clark, and Barnzley (the most influential ‘underground/non-corporate’ fashion influencer & designer during the 80’s) What set myself and people like Barnzley apart from anyone else, was including humour into our style. (Barnzley brought smiley t-shirts out during the mid-80s, as a funny rare groove vibe, before a million ravers latched onto it in ‘88. He also done the humorous arty obviously-fake felt-tip high-end t-shirts, that made a reappearance 30 years later, and particularly recently favoured by a young female Canadian singer.)
Something else that only the pair of us were doing in the mid-80’s, was incorporating lots of our diverse history into our unique styles. Mixing bits of punk, Westwood, hip hop etc. I was also inspired by my love of the ‘tough kid/feminine hair or clothes paradox, but I brought it to theatrical extremes, which I found amusing. For instance, I would cut the neck and sleeves off a fitted multicoloured velvet football thugs tracksuit top, cover the hems in safety pins in homage to punk, and mix it with baggy Worlds End pirate trousers, hi tech squash trainers that all the Bermondsey heroin addicts wore, and glam-Bryan Ferry electric blue eye shadow. Totally lost in self-celebration on the dancefloor, dancing to ‘Love Can’t Turn Around’, and on the verge of passing out, due to extreme levels of bursting passion!”

Aside from Mark Bailey’s various experiences & involvement of influential fashion design, he was also trained in clothes making, footwear design, and bespoke tailoring, at Lewisham College, Cordwainers Hackney, and H. Huntsman 11 Savile Row.