London’s National Portrait Gallery takes an intense step back in time this month with the launch of The Face Magazine: Culture Shift, a retrospective of the mass of iconic imagery published by the style bible during its 24-year reign beginning in 1980.

Created by Nick Logan, who had previously reinvented the NME and launched Smash Hits, The Face aimed to fill the gap between glossy monthly magazines and the weekly music papers. The focus was on music, fashion, style, clubs, and culture – and the people in those worlds. Known for its innovative design, graphics and photography, and, very importantly, independent editorial freedom, the magazine quickly attracted the best talent around, with the shared goals of creating ground-breaking content. Although run on a shoestring budget, the magazine helped propel the careers of countless editors, graphic artists, stylists, photographers, models, hair and make-up creatives, many of whom remain at the top of their game today.

Everyone who was anyone wanted to be featured in The Face, and this exhibition brings together 200 of the most special images, bringing the worlds of 80s – 00s music and fashion together for a slick, well curated, trip down memory lane.

We begin in a room lined with floor to ceiling with very memorable covers of the magazine, coupled with a video montage of 80s and 90s youth culture. The random mix of people staring down includes everyone from Alexander McQueen and Ian Brown, to Naomi Campbell and Siouxsie Sioux. The Brits at their best. The next room highlights imagery of 80s musicians – Bananarama, The Specials, George Michael and so on, all reinvented for the magazine by music photographers who could now style proper shoots rather than just take quick snaps. The UKs legendary 80s clubland features next – the heady mix of fashion, music and other stimulants helping to create more legendary looks – Grace Jones, Leigh Bowery, Steve Strange and so on feature here, as do Ray Petri’s Buffalo posse. The UK’s acid house and rave culture also gave the magazine countless editorial options. The magazine then moved onto more studio-based photography and photographers were given more time with bands than journalists – the image slowly becoming more powerful than the written word.

The early 1990s marked the rise of young designer fashion together with the supermodels and a new generation of young stylists and photographers – everyone keen to shake off the 1980s. Photographers like Corinne Day, David Sims and Juergen Teller broke new ground with very gritty, authentic, fashion imagery that hit the right note in recession-hit raw Britannia. Highlights here include Corinne Day’s early images of Kate Moss and her iconic shot of Rosemary Ferguson on an orange sofa.

The Face’s popularity peaked in the mid 1990s when the UK was riding high with Britpop and an optimistic New Labour government. Portraits of Blur, Oasis, the Spice Girls etc line the next room. After then fashion shifted up a gear to become more glamorous and slick, and photographers like Ellen von Unwerth and David Lachapelle rose up alongside stylists such as Katy England and Isabella Blow and designers such as Alexander McQueen. A gothic romanticism prevailed in the late 1990s.

The early 2000s saw the rise in popularity of American musicians and celebrities in the UK, as well as the superstar DJ. Things felt like they were becoming very commercial although The Face stuck to its guns and carried on promoting UK culture such as the garage scene and artists like The Streets and Ms Dynamite. By 2004, sadly, the economics of the magazine’s publication just couldn’t compete with online competition and the magazine folded. It was, however, relaunched in 2019 with new backers.

Curated by Sabina Jaskot-Gill of the NPG, alongside ex Face Art Director Lee Swillingham (92-99) and photographer Norbert Schoerner, The Face Magazine: Cultural Shift is a beautifully produced and curated show. Image after image, in room after room will take you back to the most fertile 25-year period in British youth culture, probably never to be repeated again. The sheer talent, creativity and energy on display is awe-inspiring. That said, The Face, in the 1980s, was very weak at highlighting queer culture – the editors were seemingly unaware of all the legendary 1980s gay clubs in London and New York. I would scour every issue in the 80s eagerly trying to find any reference to gay life – to no avail – queerness was just never mentioned. That gap stands out in the exhibition, but apart from that, the magazine and many of its contributors deserve legendary status.