From Spice Girls to Father Ted: In the 90s, culture was in your face — not on your phone

A new exhibition at Tate Britain captures the energy of the 90s. Suzanne Harrington looks back at a decade of creativity, hedonism and analogue anonymity

The 90s were the last offline decade says Suzzanne Harrington

The 1990s was the last offline decade. What we didn’t realise at the time — we were too busy living it — was quite what a sweet spot we were inhabiting, a time of raw creativity and unfiltered unselfconsciousness. There were no smartphones — everything happened in real life. We went out. We danced, we partied, we dressed up, we hung out, without anyone documenting it.

“If you wanted anything interesting — food, drink, fun, a shag — you had to leave the house,” remembers author and journalist Miranda Sawyer. She’s one of the many voices comprising a new Tate Britain blockbuster, The 90s: Art and Fashion, on until February 14.