Roger Burton, former mod and fringe stylist extraordinaire, supplied the clothing for the film Quadrophenia, opened the influential PX clothing store in Covent Garden in the early eighties, was commissioned to design Westwood and McClaren’s Worlds End shop after a chance meeting with her in a pub, and hosted one of the first ever retrospective exhibitions of punk clothing. He currently runs the Horse Hospital arts centre in London, which has been described as London’s true home of the avant garde. The Horse Hospital also houses his Contemporary Wardrobe, one of the largest private collections of 20th Century youth and street fashion.
You have two distinct jobs or roles — as a curator what do you do all day?
Expect the unexpected
And what do you do all day as a costume designer/stylist?
Expect the unexpected.
What are you doing do today curating-wise?
Trawling through the sea of shit in my inbox, looking for gems, whilst curating 3 forthcoming art shows, and having back-to-back meetings with: the Bloomsbury festival, the Seychelles tourist board, a Polish performance artist and a UK avant-garde electro art band, who all want to book the space, and dealing with passers by who want to know the history of the building…
And what are you doing do today as a costume designer/stylist?
Meeting another costume designer and helping her select a rack of interesting 60s clothes for a film she’s designing, styling a friend for a wedding, styling a film director for a costume party.
What’s the best thing about your job as a curator?
Meeting inspiring like-minded people, who are inwardly driven and genuinely talented.
As a costume designer/stylist what’s the best thing about your job?
Meeting inspiring like-minded people, who are trying to push the creative boundaries of format TV and film.
What’s the worst thing about working as a curator?
Meeting uncreative people whose priority in life is fame and fortune.
And as a costume designer/stylist what’s the worst thing?
Meeting uncreative people who tow the line!
How did you get into working as a curator?
By recognising the desperate need for a space in London that could give a platform to extremely talented artists who prefer to work outside the mainstream.
How did you get into being a costume designer/stylist?
Through an obsession for clothes.
As a curator what’s been your biggest achievement in your career so far?
Breaking countless unknown artists, saving an historical building from redevelopment, and surviving unfunded 14 for years.
Where do you go from here, career-wise as a curator?
Surviving for another 14 years……!
What’s been your biggest achievement in your career as a costume designer/stylist so far?
Changing preconceived ideas of individuality.
Any advice for someone trying to get into (whatever it is)?
Be prepared to die for it, whatever it is!
As a stylist:
What makes a good outfit?
One that is worn effortlessly.
What makes a “bad” outfit?
One that wears a self-conscious wearer.
As an arts facilitator/ programmer:
What have been the highlights of the Horse Hospital so far?
The sheer diversity of its programmes.
What have been the low points?
Not having enough hours in the day…
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A professional cricketer.
If you were going to have a complete career change, what would you go for?
A professional top fuel funny car pilot.
