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Cool Britannia exhibition showcases 1996 pop culture

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Key Points
  • The 'Cool Britannia' exhibition celebrates 1996 as Britain's wildest year with iconic Spice Girls outfits and memorabilia.
  • Curated by Dominic Mohan, it features items like Mel B's leopard-print catsuit, Geri Halliwell's Union flag boots, and a 1996 Brit Award.
  • The exhibition includes photography, Oasis memorabilia, and highlights cultural events like the Spice Girls' rise and Oasis's Knebworth gig.

The exhibition, curated by Dominic Mohan, the former editor of The Sun newspaper, aims to capture a magical period when pop, rock, football, art, dance culture, food, the media, and politics fused together spectacularly. The collection includes pictures by British photographers Jill Furmanovsky and Derek Ridgers of bands on and off stage, previously unseen Oasis memorabilia, and various concert flyers and tickets. It celebrates 1996, when the Spice Girls rose to fame and scored three number one hits, Oasis performed their famous Knebworth gig, and the comedy-drama Trainspotting hit cinemas, becoming a cultural phenomenon. Also featured in the exhibition, titled '1996: A celebration of the wildest year of Britain's wildest decade – 30 years on', is a blue dress worn by Emma Bunton, known as Baby Spice.

Specific Spice Girls items highlight the era's vibrancy, with Mel B, known as Scary Spice, famously wearing her leopard-print catsuit during the girl group's performance at the 1997 Brit Awards. The 1996 Brit Award, loaned from the British Phonographic Industry, was presented to winning artists that year, including Oasis, fronted by Liam and Noel Gallagher, who won three awards, Annie Lennox, Supergrass, Paul Weller, Take That, David Bowie, and Michael Jackson. The exact opening date and duration of the exhibition have not been confirmed, nor have details on other specific items beyond those mentioned or potential involvement of other celebrities in launch events.

It is now the moment to unleash my '90s leopard catsuit back into the wild for the world to admire. What memories. What a time. What an outfit. Perhaps one of the most iconic Spice performances with my gorgeous girls and best friends at the peak of the '90s at the Brit Awards. A glorious moment when we came home to celebrate a rollercoaster seven months after exploding from unknowns in July 1996 to feeling like we had conquered the world. It was all a crazy '90s whirlwind but, in my leopard print, I knew I could take on anything. This outfit is sexy, naughty, and bold, which pretty much sums up me and the '90s! I hope you love it as much as I do. And, yes, I can still fit into it. Enjoy one of my most loved and treasured items from my personal archive. Thirty years on, cherish the memory, and enjoy the exhibition. Love life. Girl power 2026.

Mel B, Spice Girl (Scary Spice)
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Cool Britannia exhibition showcases 1996 pop culture | Reed News