Down the Market

The Goth and Punk market of old may now be tourist traps, but London's art scene is having a unique effect on stalls across the capital.

It can’t just be me who’s noticed that London’s markets aren’t what they used to be.
What were unique, neighourhood  grottos perfect for rummaging, finding a bargain or just hanging around have now been polished, gentrified or homogenized – and sometimes all three.
High Street Ken market  was a haven of indie bargain bins and outlandish goth wear on a high street full of regularity.   It has now been replaced by a PC World.  The Purley Way has come to Kensington - the final frontier.  
And Camden market, once the sole haven of the punk rocker, where any tourist feared to tread, is little by little losing its original character to the yuppies. According to camdenmarkets.org it’s now the fourth most popular tourist attraction in London.  OK there are stil a few punks sulking around the bridge, but what about the real soul of the place?
A Weatherspoons has replaced the abandoned building by the lock.  The underground tunnels full of jumpers for a fiver are now full of the same jumpers for 30 quid.  Stalls that once sold bongs now sell over priced hand carved tables.  And the recent extension to the market has just extended the slide into commercialism.  It feels like a diluted version of its former grimey real self.  Yes there are some new and exciting things that have arrived such as The Proud Gallery, and Lock 17 - the late night bar with free entry - but at an expense to the real substance of it all.
And what’s happened to Portobello market is a travesty.  It has become gentrified and bloody expensive.  This goes hand in hand with the rise in ponceyness of the area.  Similar to the gastro/bistro invasion.  Old man pubs with a cheap pint are sadly few and far between these days.
I wonder if it’s partly down to stores such as Topshop and Rokit that sell hand-picked, dry cleaned vintage clothing ( the mainstay of many market stalls)  but at  ridiculously marked up prices and without having to rummage and elbow. Being individual is big business nowadays.  Or chains such as Primark selling the latest  catwalk fashions for a song – how can your average market stallholder compete?
But it’s not all doom and gloom and where the indie influence has been shunted out the art scene has taken up the slack.
Home to the ‘Shorditch twat’, the Brick Lane markets are now booming.  Gilbert and George have lived in the area for the last 40 years, Tracy Emin and Sarah Lucas set up their shop there - for a while- and it’s close to various ad-hoc galleries in Old Street and Bethnal Green.  You can’t get more contemporary, sweetie. 
The Brick Lane area is now is venue to four markets and counting. 
The Up Market at the Old Trumans Brewery on a Sunday isn’t for bargain hunting, but has bespoke items produced by the stall holders and supports small designers, making it interesting shopping.  The area around it holds Cafe 1001 the bar come club good for beer drinking in the summer, not to mention the fake beach, live graffiti sessions, the Grafton Gallery and various night time activities.  Brick Lane and Petticoat Lane Markets - the land of dodgy bikes for sale – are great for rummaging and  there's always something special and interesting to be found at Spitalfields.
The Bayswater Road Sunday art market is a lovely way to pick up a one off painting, with prices from £1 to £1000.
But for all the contemporary, arty and fun of the new markets it’s hard to get sentimental about them. Visiting Camden, Portobello and High St Ken market used to be about being part of a sub culture. You felt like you had stepped into a hidden part of London.  It seems those days are slipping away fast.

Julie Pallot

• Swatch Alternative Fashion Week 2007.  19th - 23rd of March - Old Spitalfields Market, Brushfield St.
• Up Market - Sundays - 10am - 5pm- www.sundayupmarket.co.uk
• Vauxhall Market on Sundays behind Sainsburys - DVDs and fake nike trainers!
• Bayswater Road Market, www.bayswater-road-artists.com, Sundays 10am – 5pm.
• www.camdenmarkets.org
• www.visitspitalfields.com
• Portobello Road Market-Mon-Wed 8am-6pm,Thur 9am-1pm, Fri, Sat 7am-7pm; (antiques) Sat 4am-6pm

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