Kensington Market was a three-story indoor market at 49/53 Kensington High Street, in the Kensington area of London, England. It opened in 1967.
In the 1960s and 1970s, it catered to hippie and bohemian culture. From the 1980s to the end of the 1990s, it catered to punks, new romantics, metal heads, ravers, and goths, as well as other sub-cultures of contemporary music, fashion, hair stylists, body arts, and crafts and accessories.
In 1969, before the band Queen had formed, Roger Taylor ran a stall at the market, also enlisting Freddie Mercury to work on it.[1][2] In a 2006 interview, Lemmy, the founder of Motörhead, stated he sold dope at the market during the 1960's.[3]
Hyper Hyper was a unit that provided stall space for many new designers, including Fiona Cartledge (Sign of the Times),[4][5][6][7] Pam Hogg,[8] Rachel Auburn and Leigh Bowery,[9] before moving to its own premises across the road in October 1996.[10]
The market finally closed on 29 January 2000.[11] The building was left derelict following its closure, and was demolished in 2001.
- ^ Mr.Scully. "Queen places in London". Queen Concerts. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
- ^ "Roger Taylor 'I remember'". Reader's Digest. 30 November 2013.
- ^ Du Noyer, Paul. "Lemmy of Motorhead Interview". Paul Du Noyer. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
Then I became a drug dealer in Kensington Market. It was a great place to sell dope, to pull chicks, get clothes you didn't get anywhere else, really cool.
- ^ Natasha Slee (9 April 2014). "What we wore: Balearic". Dazed.
- ^ "sign of the times: the cult shop that styled acid house". i-D. 22 January 2016.
- ^ "The hip place for hipsters: If you want rubber tops or yeti trousers, go to Sign of the Times, says Roger Tredre, the trendiest spot for street fashion". The Independent. 23 January 1993.
- ^ "Fiona Cartledge of Sign Of The Times is one of the unsung heroes of fashion. Here's her story". Charlieporter.net.
- ^ "The Wardrobe with Pam Hogg". The Gentlewoman. 2017.
- ^ "Rachel Auburn - Artist". Moreonthedoor.com.
- ^ "As seen at... Hype DF". The Independent. 24 October 1996.
- ^ Clare Garner (17 September 1999). "Celebrated fashion market is forced to close after 30 years". The Independent.