Sue Clowes Designer of Boy George/Culture Club's iconic clothes She helped shape 80's Fashion

Sue Clowes joins Steve Blame to reveal how her prints and clothing became part of Culture Club’s unmistakable early look—and why she eventually walked away from the fashion business.

From homemade screen-printing equipment and Camden Market stalls to working with Boy George, Sue describes a creative world built on resourcefulness, music and self-expression. She explains the cultural and religious symbolism behind her designs, and how George’s instinct for styling brought the clothes together.

Sue also shares her account of the newspaper coverage that caused a rift with George, her memories of Leigh Bowery, and the inspiration behind her Flesh and Steel and Arms of Morpheus collections.

Beyond Culture Club, the conversation explores burnout, a new life in Italy, textile technology, relaunching her work with her daughter, and seeing a new generation rediscover her designs.

00:00 Introducing Sue Clowes
01:03 Childhood, creativity and her parents
03:03 Marc Bolan, Bowie and finding belonging
05:04 Art school and creative influences
07:27 Punk and the do-it-yourself spirit
09:28 Printing T-shirts for Camden Market
12:47 Live music, clubs and the Blitz era
14:43 Meeting Boy George through Street Theatre
16:32 Creating prints for Culture Club
18:07 Dressing four different personalities
19:56 Symbolism, identity and freedom of expression
20:58 The unexpected response to her designs
22:07 Working with George—and the newspaper fallout
24:48 Making the clothes: screen-printing and hard work
27:39 Hearts, daggers, crosses and cultural respect
29:04 Fashion, gender and contemporary performers
30:43 Clothing as a way to belong
31:27 Moving beyond Culture Club
33:41 Taking her collections to New York
35:35 Tokyo and memories of Leigh Bowery
37:02 Flesh and Steel and Jonny Slut
39:19 How musicians inspired new designs
42:38 Arms of Morpheus and Spandau Ballet
46:55 Burnout, closing her studio and moving to Italy
50:07 Family, sculpture and starting again
51:13 Smart textiles and clothing technology
54:11 Kylie Minogue and relaunching with her daughter
55:57 Working together and revisiting the archive
57:01 Museums, exhibitions and rediscovery
58:52 Outlaws and the legacy of 80s fashion
1:00:34 Looking back on a life she once left behind

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