Derek Ridgers - 78-87 London Youth

In 1976, when, at the age of 26, Derek Ridgers began photographing London youth culture, he thought that he was far too old to participate in the scene. Despite his supposed dotage, though, he went on to spend the next decade haunting clubs with names like Billy's and the Blitz, capturing the madly creative fashion wonderland blossoming after dark. In his new art book, Ridgers intimately documents the confluence of creativity born of the late-'70s/early-'80s London club scene of punks, new romantics, and skinheads--armed with safety pins and eyeliner--who took to the night to revel in its freedom and defy the drab conventions of the waking hours.