Tate Britain opens 1990s culture exhibition curated by Edward Enninful

Tate Britain has opened a new exhibition exploring 1990s culture, with a focus on the collision of fashion, art and music that shaped the decade. The show is curated by Edward Enninful, the former editor-in-chief of British Vogue, and features nearly 70 artists and designers. One broadcast placed the exhibition at Tate Modern, but the venue is Tate Britain. One report said it opens to the public on Thursday.

Enninful said he did not want the exhibition to be only about Cool Britannia. He wanted it to include people outside London who did not go to the right schools and were not supported by institutions. The show features Maud Sulter, Sonia Boyce and Steve McQueen, among others. It looks at a generation that emerged after protests against Thatcher's Britain in the late 1980s, described as resourceful, rebellious and relentlessly creative, and which reshaped Britain's cultural identity. Asked whether Britain is less tolerant now, Enninful said his life and career had been about tolerance and inclusivity, and that his family had been invited into Great Britain. He said: 'Maybe we're less tolerant now, but we're still here. You know, we'll keep fighting.'

Key exhibits include a Stella McCartney collection dress worn by Kate Moss and a photograph shot by Steven Klein in New York in 1993 in the Meatpacking District. The late Alexander McQueen is among the featured designers. Enninful remembered him as funny, creative and a regular person, a cab driver's son, and a genius who could create the grotesque and the beautiful. The exhibition also includes the Spice Girls' feet, buffalo boots, high heels and a train, recalling an analogue era with no social media and old-fashioned fandom. Ozwald Boateng, whose work challenged the norms of men's tailoring, said creativity was allowed to speak and cross boundaries. Other highlights include an Alexander McQueen dress from his 1998 collection, shown in a fiery catwalk show, and a smaller version of Damien Hirst's shark in formaldehyde. The decade made supermodels such as Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer household names.

Music and club culture are central. The exhibition covers the rave scene, jungle and drum and bass. One curator said there was a moment of communion on the dance floor in the 1990s, linked to the rave scene and particular drugs. Curators said the exhibition is not only nostalgic and that it is critical of the decade's problems. They argued that contemporary art owes much to the artists of the 1990s, who defined the parameters of what is now considered contemporary art. The decade was shaped by new technologies, changing ideas about identity and a generation determined to do things differently.

Putting the show together brought practical challenges. Curators said they worked with huge fashion houses, and that garments and gowns are treated differently from artworks. A false floor with a concrete effect was laid throughout the exhibition to create the feeling of a disused 1990s warehouse. For older visitors, the show offers a chance to revisit a decade they remember. For younger audiences, it offers a glimpse of a world before social media, when fashion magazines, music and television helped define what was cool. Enninful also said he sees AI as a tool to enhance his work, but that it cannot replace humanity or people's creativity, and that he prefers real models. He said he is not interested in simply looking back, but in reflecting on an era that continues to shape culture today.