“We were all out of work so we were going to the charity shops – we were accidentally dressed by Oxfam. In the early 90s, these stores weren’t filled with Gap T-shirts, they were selling clothes made 10 or 15 years earlier. We looked like we had adopted a retro chic style, but in truth it was out of financial necessity.” Brett Anderson 

Suede: founder group of Britpop

Suede announces Britpop and becomes, with Oasis, Blur and Pulp, a major group on the British scene of the early 90s. 

The Suede Britpop was composed at its creation by Brett Anderson (singer), Bernard Butler (guitarist), Mat Osman (bass guitarist) and Simon Gilbert (drummer). Between 1992 and 2002, Suede released five  albums, the most famous being their eponymous album “Suede”. Peter Saville designed the cover of the album “Coming up”.

Synthesis between the elegance of David Bowie and the austerity of the Smiths

Suede revives 70s glam rock and draws inspiration from David Bowie. Filiation that shines through in the clothing style of the group between dandyism and androgyny: cheap black leather jacket, short, curved, revealing the golden buckle of a jeweled belt. A jacket similar to the leather jacket worn by David Bowie on the cover of ” Heroes ” and which inspired Eddy Slimane at Dior. 

Brett Anderson cultivates this androgyny and sings on stage dressed in feminine silkflexible and resistant thread produced by the larva of vario or lace blouses, bought in thrift stores and ripped off at each concert. At the Smiths, Suede borrows cigarette pants, unbuttoned shirts and tired suit jackets. A wardrobe reduced to what is strictly necessary, the members of the group even exchanging their suit jackets between two concerts or photo shoots. 

A musical and stylistic oddity, Suede remained in the shadow of Blur and Oasis until their separation in 2001. Yet the group carried a glam rock and androgynous aesthetic that was about to sweep over the 2000s.