BodyMap
BodyMap was an influential British fashion label of the 1980s known for experimental silhouettes, vivid prints, club-inspired styling, and theatrical runway presentations.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
BodyMap was a British fashion label founded in London in 1982 by Stevie Stewart and David Holah, two fashion graduates of Middlesex Polytechnic. It became one of the most visually distinctive names associated with the post-Punk, New Romantic, and club-oriented fashion culture of 1980s London. Rather than treating clothing as a conventional system of flattering proportions, the designers used layering, unusual construction, graphic textiles, and body-conscious lines to alter or “remap” the outline of the wearer. The result was a style that could be playful, confrontational, sensual, and deliberately difficult to categorize. The label began modestly, with Stewart and Holah selling work from a stall at Camden Market while they were still students. Their graduation collection was purchased by Browns, the influential independent fashion retailer on London’s South Molton Street, giving the young designers early commercial validation and press attention. Their rapid rise was also helped by Susanne Bartsch, the Swiss-born producer and fashion personality who supported the designers’ exposure. BodyMap appeared in the New London in New York presentation, an event intended to introduce emerging British designers to American audiences. The publicity generated in New York helped turn the label into an international fashion story, and Holah later described the designers as becoming “stars overnight.” BodyMap’s identity was shaped by London’s nightlife and youth culture. The founders designed for people who participated in clubs, music, performance, and street fashion rather than for a narrowly defined luxury clientele. Textile designer Hilde Smith contributed distinctive prints, while the designers experimented with fabrics developed in cooperation with a Swedish sportswear company. Their use of high-quality cotton, viscose, and viscose-lycra helped connect the label’s expressive styling with stretch, movement, and the practical needs of active wearers. Multiple layers, elongated or displaced lines, and graphic surfaces became recurring elements of the BodyMap vocabulary. The label’s fashion shows were as important to its public image as the garments themselves. Presentations could include outfit changes in view of the audience, models of different ages and body types, cross-dressing, exposed flesh, latex wigs, and performers or cultural figures associated with London’s club and arts scenes. Boy George, Marilyn, Helen Terry, Leigh Bowery, and Michael Clark were among the people connected with its runway presentations. The 1985 show titled “Barbie Takes a Trip Around Nature’s Cosmic Curves” particularly reinforced BodyMap’s reputation for theatricality and provocation. American buyers reportedly found the presentation shocking, while critics debated whether its imagery was simply avant-garde or carried a more explicitly fetishistic tone. BodyMap also built visibility through collaborations and publicity imagery. Its work was photographed by emerging talents including Mario Testino and David LaChapelle, and Stewart and Holah designed costumes for Michael Clark’s 1986 ballet No Fire Escape in Hell. The label received important recognition during its brief commercial peak, including the Martini Young Fashion Award in 1983 and the Bath Museum of Costume Dress of the Year award in 1984. In 1985 it had expanded beyond its original collections into men’s and women’s clothing, the Red Label, the B-basic diffusion line, children’s clothing, and swimwear. Despite strong editorial attention, international orders, and considerable influence, BodyMap struggled to secure the financial backing and organizational scale needed for sustained expansion. Reports in 1986 said that the company had entered liquidation, and its final fashion show took place in March of that year. The more accessible B-basic line continued to be sold from the Camden Market stall into the 1990s, and accounts generally place the label’s effective demise around 1991. Later discussion included possible Japanese licensing and a Ministry of Sound-related range, but these ideas did not restore BodyMap as a major operating fashion business. BodyMap’s influence outlasted its commercial life. Its approach to body-conscious dressing, layering, print, performance, and inclusive casting was absorbed into broader fashion culture. The label was revisited in exhibitions and retrospectives including the Victoria and Albert Museum’s 2013 exhibition From Club to Catwalk. Its garments also appeared in later fashion shows and popular culture, including an Absolutely Fabulous reunion episode broadcast in 2012. Stewart went on to design costumes for performers including Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, and Girls Aloud, while Holah developed an art and teaching practice focused on fashion and print. The two designers have continued to collaborate on selected projects, while BodyMap remains a reference point in accounts of British fashion’s 1980s design renaissance.
History
BodyMap emerged from London’s student and club-fashion culture in 1982, when Middlesex Polytechnic graduates Stevie Stewart and David Holah began selling their work from a Camden Market stall. The purchase of their graduation collection by Browns, a prominent independent fashion store on South Molton Street, gave the label an early platform. Its subsequent participation in the New London in New York presentation exposed the designers to American fashion media and buyers. Susanne Bartsch was also credited by the founders with helping accelerate their visibility. The New York exposure was followed by strong British press interest and established BodyMap as one of the most talked-about new London labels. The designers’ work responded to the post-Punk and New Romantic environment in which clothing was closely connected to music, nightlife, performance, and self-invention. BodyMap used layered construction and lines that shifted the apparent outline of the body. Its prints, developed in part through collaboration with textile designer Hilde Smith, were central to the label’s visual identity. Stewart and Holah also worked with a Swedish sportswear company to explore cotton, viscose, and stretch fabrics, including viscose-lycra. These materials supported garments that combined expressive silhouettes with movement and body-conscious fit. BodyMap’s shows became major cultural events. The label presented clothing through unusual casting and theatrical staging, including models of different ages and sizes, cross-dressing, latex wigs, visible flesh, and changes of clothing performed beside the runway. Musicians, performers, dancers, and club personalities appeared in or around the shows, including Boy George, Marilyn, Helen Terry, Leigh Bowery, and Michael Clark. The 1985 presentation Barbie Takes a Trip Around Nature’s Cosmic Curves attracted particular attention in the United States, where its sexual ambiguity and confrontational styling unsettled some buyers and commentators. The New York Times compared the atmosphere of a BodyMap presentation to a rock star’s video. The label also extended its influence through costume and image-making. Stewart and Holah designed costumes for Michael Clark’s 1986 ballet No Fire Escape in Hell. Photographers including Mario Testino and David LaChapelle contributed to BodyMap’s wider fashion imagery. Recognition included the Martini Young Fashion Award in 1983 and the Bath Museum of Costume Dress of the Year award in 1984. By 1985, the business offered men’s and women’s collections, the Red Label, a B-basic diffusion line, childrenswear, and swimwear. B-basic was intended to make the brand’s aesthetic more accessible to a wider customer base. Commercial growth proved difficult. The label’s striking designs generated strong publicity and orders, but some pieces were too extreme for broad retail sales. BodyMap was unable to expand sufficiently or attract enough financial support, and press reports in 1986 stated that the company had gone into liquidation. Its final fashion show was held in March 1986. The B-basic line continued to be sold from Camden Market into the 1990s, and most accounts place the label’s effective end around 1991. Later proposals involving Japanese licensing and a Ministry of Sound collection indicate continuing interest, but do not establish a full commercial revival. After BodyMap’s decline, its founders pursued separate and collaborative careers. Stevie Stewart worked in costume design for major performers and continued links with Michael Clark and other dance companies. David Holah concentrated on art, fashion, print, and teaching. BodyMap itself remained influential as a historical reference for British ready-to-wear, club fashion, theatrical presentation, stretch-based body-conscious design, and nontraditional casting. The label was repeatedly revisited in later culture. BodyMap outfits appeared in a 2011 Southbank Centre “Cavalcade of the 80s” show curated by Sue Tilley and organized by Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway. An oversized BodyMap-logo garment was worn by Edina in an Absolutely Fabulous reunion episode broadcast on 1 January 2012. In 2013 the V&A included BodyMap in From Club to Catwalk, an exhibition that documented the relationship between London’s club culture and fashion. Stewart and Holah also participated in ICA events connected with Iain R. Webb’s book on BLITZ-era fashion and culture.
- 2013
Featured in From Club to Catwalk
[1]The Victoria and Albert Museum includes BodyMap in its major exhibition on 1980s London club culture and fashion.
- 2012
BodyMap referenced in Absolutely Fabulous
[1]The character Edina wears a garment featuring oversized BodyMap logos in an Absolutely Fabulous reunion episode.
- 2011
BodyMap appears in a 1980s retrospective show
[1]BodyMap outfits are included in the Southbank Centre’s “Cavalcade of the 80s” fashion presentation.
- 1986
Final fashion show and reported liquidation
[1]BodyMap presents its final fashion show in March, while reports describe the business as having entered liquidation.
- 1985
Expansion into broader product lines
[1]The label expands into men’s and women’s collections, Red Label, B-basic, childrenswear, and swimwear.
- 1985
Barbie Takes a Trip Around Nature’s Cosmic Curves show
[1]A highly theatrical show featuring cross-dressing models, varied ages and sizes, latex wigs, and exposed flesh reinforces BodyMap’s provocative reputation.
- 1984
Dress of the Year award
[1]A BodyMap outfit selected by Brenda Polan wins the Bath Museum of Costume Dress of the Year award.
- 1983
Martini Young Fashion Award
[1]BodyMap receives the Martini Young Fashion Award during its early period of recognition.
- 1982
BodyMap is founded
[1]Stevie Stewart and David Holah establish the label after graduating from Middlesex Polytechnic and initially sell designs from a Camden Market stall.
- 1982
Graduation collection is bought by Browns
[1]The independent London retailer Browns purchases the designers’ graduation collection, helping generate early industry and press attention.
Products and positioning
An avant-garde British fashion label positioned between clubwear, experimental ready-to-wear, performance costume, and youth-oriented street fashion. BodyMap emphasized theatrical presentation, body-conscious construction, unconventional layering, vivid prints, and a deliberately inclusive and disruptive visual language.
Experimental ready-to-wear · 1982
Main BodyMap collections
The principal BodyMap collections used layered construction, displaced or elongated lines, vivid prints, stretch fabrics, and body-conscious proportions. The designs were aimed at a young, club-oriented audience and frequently challenged conventional ideas of fit, gender presentation, and wearability. The label produced both womenswear and menswear as it expanded in the mid-1980s.
Diffusion clothing
B-basic
B-basic was BodyMap’s more accessible diffusion line. It extended the label’s visual language beyond the most elaborate runway pieces and remained available through the Camden Market stall after the main fashion business had declined. The line helped make BodyMap’s styling available to a broader customer base.
Fashion collection · 1985
Red Label
Red Label was one of the named lines offered during BodyMap’s mid-1980s expansion. Available documentation identifies it as part of the broader product structure alongside the main men’s and women’s collections, B-basic, childrenswear, and swimwear.
Childrenswear · 1985
BodyMap childrenswear
The brand expanded into children’s clothing during its mid-1980s growth phase. Specific ranges and individual products are not identified in the available reference material.
Swimwear · 1985
BodyMap swimwear
Swimwear formed part of BodyMap’s expanded product offer in the mid-1980s, extending its use of body-conscious construction and stretch-oriented materials into a dedicated category.
Marketing campaigns
- 1985Barbie Takes a Trip Around Nature’s Cosmic Curves
United Kingdom · United States
This runway presentation used theatrical casting, cross-dressing, latex wigs, exposed flesh, and models of different ages and sizes to challenge conventional fashion-show presentation.
Outcome. The show created major publicity and shocked some American buyers, strengthening BodyMap’s reputation as an avant-garde label.
- 1982Camden Market launch
United Kingdom
BodyMap began by selling from a Camden Market stall, connecting the label directly with London’s youth, club, and street-fashion communities.
Outcome. The stall provided an early retail base and continued to sell B-basic after the main fashion business declined.
- 1982New London in New York
United States · United Kingdom
BodyMap participated in a presentation designed to introduce emerging British designers to American audiences, with support from event producer Susanne Bartsch.
Outcome. The show generated substantial American fashion-press attention and accelerated BodyMap’s international profile.
Brand decisions
1986
End the main runway-led fashion operationStrategyBackground
BodyMap had international acclaim and orders but struggled to obtain sufficient financial backing and organizational scale.
Action taken
The company entered reported liquidation and held its final fashion show in March 1986.
Aftermath
B-basic continued through the Camden Market stall into the 1990s, while the label’s wider influence continued through retrospectives and later cultural references.
1985
Introduce a diffusion line and broaden the assortmentStrategyBackground
BodyMap’s runway-led identity attracted attention, but the most extreme designs were not always easy to sell at scale.
Action taken
The business expanded into B-basic and added men’s, women’s, children’s, and swimwear lines, alongside Red Label.
Aftermath
The broader assortment improved accessibility but did not resolve the label’s financing and expansion difficulties.
Recent events
- 2013
BodyMap appears in the V&A exhibition From Club to Catwalk[1]
Other
The label was featured prominently in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s survey of 1980s London fashion and club culture, including garments, imagery, catwalk footage, and an interview with the founders.
- 1986
BodyMap reports financial difficulties and liquidation[1]
Bankruptcy
Although the label had attracted international acclaim and substantial orders, reports indicated that it had entered liquidation amid difficulties expanding the business and securing financial backing.
- 1984
BodyMap receives the Dress of the Year award[1]
Other
A BodyMap outfit selected by Guardian fashion writer Brenda Polan won the Bath Museum of Costume Dress of the Year award.
- 1983
BodyMap wins the Martini Young Fashion Award[1]
Other
BodyMap received the Martini Young Fashion Award during its early rise as an innovative London label.
Sources2 sources
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