About Christopher Nemeth

 

Christopher Nemeth was a key figure in the 80s London fashion scene centred around The House of Beauty and Culture; of which he was a founder member. Beginning in London, and later moving to live and work in Tokyo, Nemeth garnered a cult following for his intricate cutting and sewing which creates the distinctive silhouette as he called self-portrait. The handmade individuality of his work, carefully crafted garments, paintings and furniture show his ability to interlace art and fashion which have created a place for him among the greatest fashion designers.

 

The History

 

Fashion designer and artist Christopher Louis Nemeth (1959-2010) was born in Birmingham, England. He moved to London in 1979 to study painting at Camberwell College of Arts, from where he graduated in 1982. While he continued painting after university, he taught himself pattern cutting and sewing to make his own clothes using post sacks and canvas from his paintings as the fabric which he started selling them at Kensington Market, London. Later his works were discovered by photographer Mark Lebon and Nemeth’s works began to appear in iD, Face, Tatler, and more. During this period Nemeth had created many collaborated pieces with the artists from The House of Beauty and Culture. Particularly he worked very closely with the accessory designer and stylist Judy Blame and together they created many one of a kind garments.

 

In 1986, Nemeth moved his base to Tokyo, selling his works through a select shop Sector. Between the late 80s to the early 90s, Nemeth presented several shows including On Air East. In 1994, Nemeth invited Judy Blame and Mark Lebon to Tokyo and together they created a show ‘Hard Work’. In 1993, Sector moved its location and became his eponymous shop Christopher Nemeth. Following years his works were exhibited in ‘Dressed to Kill: 100 Years of Fashion’ at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra in 1993 to 1994, ‘Club to Catwalk: London Fashion in the 1980s’ at The Victoria and Albert Museum, London in 2013.

 

Across the years he quietly developed his aesthetic without losing momentum or needing to compromise, transcending seasons and trends, forming one continuous work in progress. He detested the conceptualisation of creative practice, placing the importance on the exploratory joy of making, understanding his work to be an instinctive and dexterous pursuit. Emphasising process over final product, this idea is also expressed in his drawings and paintings of fabric and the action of sewing that decorate his store.