Saturday 10th - Friday 16th of January

This Wednesday, BBC4 will be screening Seven Photographs That Changed Fashion, in which celebrity photographer Rankin selects the defining images of the twentieth century and explores their impact on our perception of the modern world. However, this is the BBC's second attempt at making the programme, and the original version is unlikely to be broadcast: the producers now admit that their first choice of presenter, a heterosexual British male who grew up in the 1970s, was "ill-equipped" to make a documentary about fashion history. The Randomness Times now presents this individual's original seven selections, which tell the story of the last thirty years of haute couture from a quite distinct perspective...
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1977: Invention of the Hoodie. A generation of young men learn the rudiments of style, and the importance of being properly-dressed, by taking the cloak off the action figure and then losing it. The action figure looks rubbish afterwards.__________________________________________________________
1982: Peter Davison pioneers "celery bling".__________________________________________________________
1986: After seeing Amadeus, fourteen-year-old boys across the nation take a sudden and commendable interest in the history of women's fashion. The big talking-point this season is whether Dawn Clarke from Form 5C might be able to achieve a similar look by stretching the top of her games kit really, really tight.__________________________________________________________
1991: The unchallenged fashion icon of the age, and the paragon of modern sensuality, is the girl in the leotard who throws her head back and waves her pom-poms around in the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video. Screencaps of this are rare, however, so here we present a reconstruction.__________________________________________________________
1992: As those young men who grew up in the 1970s finally reach adulthood, the KLF's casual elegance seems to express something quite profound about the nature of masculinity.__________________________________________________________
1996: Style is redefined when a man in Oxfam clothes wiggles his arse at Michael Jackson. All human culture revolves around this moment.__________________________________________________________
2009: In an era when "gangsta rap" has become so familiar as to appear mainstream, the new wave of pseudo-criminal chic encapsulates the three most critical aspects of fashion: simplicity, functionality, and exchangeable hats. Denmark instantly becomes the most fashionable country in Europe.__________________________________________________________