The Face! How do you sum up the magazine that shaped how Britain looked, dressed, danced, laughed, loved, cried, and everything in between for 20 odd glorious years? And revolutionized magazine design and style photography in the process?
You don’t. You walk into the National Portrait Gallery, take a breath, and just let it engulf you.
At a glance...
A strong start
The first room hits like a sonic slam. Wall-sized timeline, and that killer photo. You’ll know what I mean when you visit. Two giant walls of covers. Every era, every attitude, every haircut: an entire back catalogue of cool. I don’t suppose it could be sold as wallpaper, which is a crying shame. I, for one, would buy it in a heartbeat.
This isn’t just nostalgia for the 80s kids (although, full disclosure, I am exactly that). No, it’s a journey through four decades of visual rebellion, aesthetic audacity, and editorial swagger. It’s not just what The Face looked like—it’s what it meant to a generation.
A jewel box setting
The jewel-toned walls make every photo sing. The moody lighting is perfection.
There are about four rooms’ worth of material, chronologically snaking from the DIY punk-infused 80s through to the slicker, sharper 2000s and the magazine’s 2019 rebirth in vivid colours (the Face MK 1 folded in 2004). And let’s just say: the big format photos really do these images justice. No cramped A4 limitation here, this is full-on, high-impact, gallery-scale glory.
Everywhere you look: testimony. Behind-the-scenes notes, quotes from the contributors, old-school layout spreads, and covers under glass like sacred artefacts. There’s even a glorious spread dedicated to the Buffalo crew—Ray Petri and Jamie Morgan’s boundary-pushing, masculinity-redefining styling collective. Honestly, that room alone is worth the visit.
Like a hairspray-fuelled riot in Soho
There’s clever curation throughout, including looped video clips and editorial context that elevates the spreads beyond fashion. Music, race, sexuality, class: The Face didn’t just reflect culture, it shaped it. It made politics edgy and photogenic and something worth paying attention to. It made pop stars into movie stars and movie stars into icons. Yeah, even Kylie. No small feat. There’s a spread on the cost of living next to one on clubbing at The Blitz. Quintessential The Face. There was nothing, but nothing, like it before. It didn’t so much push boundaries as tear through them like a hairspray-fuelled riot in Soho.
The “Shop the look” corner
Actually, it’s not a mere corner, it’s a whole room. No back issues, sadly (try eBay for that; you can sometimes nab some at reasonable prices). Instead, you can grab the Culture Shift book, loads of design-led reads, and even the Outlaws exhibition book if you missed that one over at the Fashion and Textile Museum. And pins, badges, posters, tote bags, T-shirts…the usual assortment. There’s even a scarf in suitably vivid red. Plus, there’s more exhibition related goodies in the National Portrait Gallery shop proper.
Clever heading would go here if I could think of one
Needless to say, I adored it. And if you’re even vaguely interested in fashion, music, photography, or youth culture—not to mention actual magazine-making craft—this is basically your private heaven. Go. Wander. Soak it all up.
If you’ve seen the aforementioned Outlaws exhibition, this is the perfect complement. If you haven’t, this is pure joy in its own way.
The Face: Culture shift – practical information
- Exhibition page on the the NPG site
- Where: the National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place, London, WC2H 0HE. (Details, including opening hours, here)
- The National Portrait Gallery on Google maps.
- On until: 18 May 2025
- Cost: £25.50 with donation, £23 without donation.
- How to get there: the nearest tube stop is Charing Cross (Northern Line, Bakerloo line). Embankment and Leicester Square are not far away.
Where to go from there
This may be just me, but I can’t help thinking that a drink and a browse in Maison Assouline (it’s not that far) would make the perfect next stop. Or check out the photography section in Waterstones, which is even nearer. They’re both on Piccadilly. As I say, not far. Go to both, I say. And grab the best cinnamon buns in London in between. Talking of food, you’re a stone’s throw from the brilliant Tokyo Diner, too.
About the author
Everything you read (and see) on this site is by me, Emma Duchat—unless I clearly say otherwise. I’ve lived in London most of my life and never seem to run out of things to explore. I walk the walk (literally), take the photos, and research and write every post. Come say hi on Instagram, too!
