Vintage By Hemingway

VINTAGE at SOUTHBANK CENTRE

Whether your thing is swing, rockabilly, mod, soul, funk, disco, ska, electro, cabaret, film, art or design, or if you just want to dress up and get an authentic make-over for a day, Vintage at Southbank Centre is a sensual delight, a big dressing-up box, a collector’s dream and a joyous creative feast for all ages. For one glamorous weekend we celebrate the music, fashion, film, art , design, and dance from the 1920s to the 1980s (and maybe even a peek at the early ‘90s) that has made Britain the world’s creative and cultural hotbed.

Over the three days, one of the world’s greatest pieces of mid-century architecture is being treated to a 60th birthday suit: Royal Festival Hall will be set dressed like you have never seen it before. The six levels of this great building will be transformed (for the first time) into a multi-venue playground where, over 13 hours per day, pass holders can ‘learn the dances’, enjoy a makeover take in the live performances, exclusive DJ sets, catwalk shows, wonderfully conceived food and cocktails, the cream of the crop vintage retailers and surprises galore. Vintage favourites the Soul Casino, Let it Rock, The Torch Club and the Leisure Lounge are amongst the ten nightclubs contained within Royal Festival Hall. New clubs to the Vintage family include The Studio, Prohibition Club , The Bunker Club and the North South Divide.

Each evening the RFH Auditorium will host a one-off, themed ‘Vintage Revue’ – a concert featuring some of the world’s greatest performers coming together to create a one off genre specific revue. Vintage has a policy to curate a line up that sets it apart from other festivals and actively works with artist to create memorable “I was there” events.

To gain exclusive access to Royal Festival Hall, simply book a pass for Friday, Saturday or Sunday (£60). If you’d also like to access the stunning ‘Vintage Revue’ book a Friday, Saturday or Sunday pass + revue show (starting from £75). Tickets for the RFH auditorium revue shows are strictly limited. 

Additionally, Southbank Centre’s outside spaces host the enormous Vintage Marketplace, hair and make-up parlours, tea parties, creative workshops for all ages, themed bars and restaurants curated by Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway and the Hemingway Design team and a vintage funfair. Featuring vintage favourites such as The Chap Olympiad, ‘Best in Show’ parades and pop-up catwalk shows, prepare for eye candy, brilliantly dressed folk and great music, performance art and design.

This promises to be London’s best looking and most uplifting weekend for many a year so “get yer glad rags on”, shine your dancing shoes, pack your cameras and let’s celebrate everything that’s great about British creativity.

The Vintage Inner Sanctum

There will 5,000 tickets a day to access the Royal Festival Hall which will be set dressed like you have never seen it before. Learn to do a Northern Soul backdrop or to Jive during the afternoon and then try out your moves in the clubs that evoke the ambience of classic venues like Wigan Casino, The Blitz Club, The Beat Route, The Wag Club et al. Have a supper inspired by the classic dishes of the 40s and then dance off your dinner in the Clore Ballroom to a 20 piece swing orchestra.

For those of you that want to ‘fine dine’ in one of London’s great restaurants Skylon, then book a table and enjoy some pre war cabaret (Sally Bowles style) and then move on to do a bit of Charleston in the Prohibition Club. Let It Rock will feature the great rockin DJ’s and bands that got us off to such an exciting start last summer and the Leisure Lounge will be as exotic and curious as ever. The Soul Casino does what it says on the tin and is wall to wall northern, modern, deep and funky soul and in addition to The Bunker Club, The Studio and the Prohibition Club there are ‘venues with no name’ that will feature a soupcon of Goth, New Romantic, Electro, New Wave, Boogie, Psyche, Acid House and of course a healthy serving of DISCO DISCO DISCO.

We are not about to give everything away because we want the Royal Festival Hall to be a joyous voyage of discovery but we can’t resist letting you know about the North South Divide Public House we are creating... Northerners don your flat caps and hob nails (but best leave your ferrets at home), Southerners come in your standard Pearly King and Pearly Queen garb (practice your Dick van Dyke chim chimney heel click) and get ready to take part in the highly competitive fun and games we have planned.

The Vintage Peoples Festival

In the spirit of the democratic Southbank Centre, Vintage 2011 will have free as well as paid for elements. The spaces around, in between and in some cases on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Purcell Rooms and The British Film Institute will be set dressed and feature the enormous Vintage Marketplace (a gathering of the finest purveyors of vintage clothes, accessories, mid century modern homewares, records and music memorabilia and up-cycled ephemera), a Vintage funfair, hair and beauty parlours, tea parties and themed bars and restaurants. There will be a beach along the embankment with creative workshops for all ages. Vintage favourites such as The Chap Olympiad and the pop up catwalk shows will be there for everyone to enjoy. There will be sound systems that celebrate the various genres .Those of you who were there at Vintage 2010 will know that there will be eye candy, brilliantly dressed folk and great music, performance art and design everywhere.

The Vintage and Southbank Centre teams will enable you to discover hidden delights, surprises and transformed spaces in this iconic part of London.
There will a flotilla of party boats, cruising the Thames specialising in genres from funk, to swing to rock and roll. Anyone fancy recreating the 1977 Sex Pistols Jubilee boat party or experiencing a floating Vintage culinary experience or how about coming aboard the ‘Love Boat’?The British Film Institute will be joining the party with a 3 day extravaganza of 20th century classic and iconic movies, Public Information films and documentaries that join the dots between the music, fashion and art on display across the wider Vintage site.

Vintage London

Long after the Royal Festival Hall has closed its doors at 1.30pm, Vintage after parties will continue through the night at iconic venues around London. Boy have we got a venue for the Warehouse... A secret venue within 10 minutes walk of the Southbank but in the grand tradition of the underground rave, you will have to wait for an announcement on this one.

There will be a full programme of Vintage themed films, documentaries, public information films and linked events at The British Film Institute. The Thames will be alive with a flotilla of themed Vintage Boat parties - Ahoy there land lubbers!! And of course there are you, in all your finery. There are few things that put smiles on people’s faces more than wonderful and inventive stylish folk. We are expecting over 250,000 people a day across the site. What a visual delight Vintage 2011 will be.