Chessington Industrial Estate: Gala Cosmetics Heritage & Art Exhibition

We've been working with local communities to unearth and celebrate the stories of industry on and around the  Industrial Estate in Chessington. 

During our research, more and more tales of businesses that once operated on the estate have surfaced from people living locally or who were employed there. For this exhibition, we've  chosen to focus on one particular business that dominated a lot of our conversations with people  – Gala Cosmetics.

In their heyday Gala produced Mary Quant’s makeup brand, which revolutionised the fashion look in the late 60’s and 70’s, and Boots 17.

Our exhibition features work from 138 Kingston College students representing a range of creative industries courses, along with some of the stories and items we've collected. 

The work by the students are all insprired by Gala Cosmetics and '60s and '70s retro fashion trends. It includes: sculptures, posters and paper dress designs - which were popular in the 1960s  

Reappraising the Suburbs Project

The exhibition is part of The Community Brain's Reappraising the Suburbs programme which is about recognising and celebrating the contribution suburbs make and have made in the story of the UK. 

We've been mapping the businesses and stories from the Chessington Industrial Estate to encourage people to see the industrial site differently and want to explore the often overlooked space. We're doing this to help more people recognise the important role industrial estates have to the local economy.