Life imitates art at party to celebrate street style

MODS, rockers, hipcats, coffee- bar cowboys and pervs mixed in apparent harmony last night at the Soho party to launch Streetstyle, Ted Polhemus's survey of street fashion from 1940 to the present, writes Marianne Macdonald.

The book is linked to an exhibition of the same name, sponsored by the Independent, opening at the Victoria and Albert Museum on 16 November. It charts more street styles than the average pedestrian would know existed.

The exhibition is the brainchild of Mr Polhemus, 47, who describes himself as a social anthropologist. As a result of his efforts, normally sedate curators at the V & A found themselves attending such diverse entertainments as Glastonbury festival, the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donnington, and Manchester raves in search of exhibits.

Asking New Age travellers and heavy metal rockers whether they could possibly buy their clothes reportedly proved an interesting experience. One traveller protested noisily that he only had one outfit, while others gaped in astonishment - unaware, like most of the public, that what they pulled on that morning was actually Art.

(Photograph omitted)