The Sussex Lancers was a pioneering gay leather bikers’ club and their story rides in the face of prejudice and the HIV/AIDS crisis.
Developed by LGBTQ+ historian and University of Brighton Digital Communications Officer Alf Le Flohic, The Sussex Lancers: Tailor-made Leather Lovers traces the rise of a Brighton-based club active throughout the 1980s and 90s.
The exhibition explores how its members forged a resilient community during widespread discrimination and social stigma. It also addresses the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS. The story begins with two notorious Bond Street tailors in the 1960s. The exhibition charts the rise of leather culture in Brighton and its role in shaping identity, visibility, and belonging.
During his research, Alf unearthed rare photographs, personal memorabilia, and newly uncovered archival material. The exhibition uses these discoveries to create an intimate portrait of everyday club life. It reveals friendships, care networks, and moments of joy that existed alongside activism and loss.
Alf Le Flohic told QX: “At the end of the last century, it was a common sight to see groups of men in leather, arms around each other, moving between the bars in the St James’s Street area of Brighton. The image was ultra-masculine, but some of the candid photos I’ve uncovered show them having picnics on the Downs and taking tea at Amberley.
“Unfortunately, the official archive of the Sussex Lancers was destroyed around ten years ago, so this exhibition has been pieced together from personal collections and archive material held at the Bishopsgate Institute. We hear a lot about Brighton’s Mod scene – this is a chance to celebrate some bikers.”
The exhibition also features new photographic work by Antony Edwards. It documents the contemporary group Leathermen South, drawing a line between past and present expressions of leather culture and community in the city. The exhibition is presented as a companion piece to Gender Stories, which runs concurrently at the museum.
“This exhibition captures an important but often overlooked part of Brighton’s social history. By bringing together personal collections, archive material and contemporary photography, it highlights the city’s long-standing role as a place of community, resistance and self-expression. We are delighted to host it in our Prints and Drawings Gallery at the Museum.”
Brighton & Hove Museums
By focusing on lived experience and community memory, The Sussex Lancers: Tailor-made Leather Lovers adds depth to Brighton’s cultural record. It offers visitors a powerful reminder of how subcultures foster resilience, solidarity, and pride in the face of adversity.
The Sussex Lancers: Tailor-made Leather Lovers is at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery and runs from now until 12 April 2026. Tickets are available online.
