Spice Girls megafan smashes world record with ultimate Girl Power collection
British artist Liz West has the collection all millennials (really, really) want.
In 2011, her giant assemblage of Spice Girls merchandise - the largest collection of Spice Girls memorabilia ever - counted 2,066 items and crowned Liz as the “biggest collector of Spice Girls items in the world”.
However, the remarkable stack was recounted as part of the celebrations for the Guinness World Records 70th Anniversary: an update that revealed a whopping 5,000 pieces of merch!
A collection that extends "as far as the eye can see," and started in 1998 with an album…
A record-breaking girl act
It’s no exaggeration to say that, when the UK all-girl act Spice Girls formed in 1994, they took the world by storm.
The five-member group would go on to leave an unprecedented mark in pop music, contributing massively to the Cool Britannia movement and becoming the highest-earning girl group in history, with the mega-hit “Wannabe” placing as the best-selling single ever by a female group.
In Liz’s own words to Guinness World Records, her record-breaking collection is about “preserving the story of the girls who changed everything.”
The year was 1996.
Spice Girls’ debut single “Wannabe” had just topped 31 charts, becoming the anthem of a generation. In a short time, the girl band formed by Emma Bunton, Mel B, Melanie C, Geri Halliwell and Victoria Beckham (at the time Victoria Adams, before she married the English footballer David Beckham in 1999) had become the inspiration for many teenagers worldwide.
Among them was 11-year-old Liz West.
Little did young Liz know, though, that her collection would bloom into the largest collection of Spice Girls memorabilia in the world, spanning from ultra-rare museum pieces to pillows and dolls, and marking a lifelong journey through catchy lyrics, shimmery costumes and Girl Power.
The very first items to enter Liz’s collection were both versions of the 1997 single “Spice Up Your Life” .
The first one included a cassette, a CD maxi single format and two radio mixes, as well as the B-side "Spice Invaders", while the second version of the single was released in a digipak with three bonus tracks.
Liz’s enthusiasm for the all-girl act only grew from there. Like many other girls of her generation, Liz started receiving Spice Girls-branded presents for her birthday and Christmas, and she even purchased her own pieces of merch when she was a teenager.
Unsurprisingly, Liz soon proved to be more than just an enthusiastic fan.
The artist’s sharp collector's eye showed from a tender age and set her apart from the other fans. While other girls would use their Spice-Girls-themed items, Liz lovingly catalogued, displayed and preserved her merch in her room.
"As a 13- or 14-year-old, I’d go to the pound shop and buy bags of things," she recalls.
When Liz graduated from the Glasgow School of Art in 2007, her collection started turning heads.
In June 2011, the British artist was acknowledged as the group’s most devoted fan, breaking her first record with a jaw-dropping archive that counted 2,066 unique artefacts.
But that was only the beginning.
Liz has continued to spice up her life ever since.
She kept on building out her fan-tastic collection, which now totals a jaw-dropping 5,000 items, boasting popular must-haves as well as coveted limited-edition items.
Showcasing remarkable breadth, it spans from stage costumes to promotional items, sticker books and magazines: a real-life time capsule for one of the most exciting moments in pop music.
Among the items in Liz’s dazzling collection, some highlights are:
- A top worn by Melanie C – Liz’s first museum-worthy item, purchased on eBay when she was 19 years old
- Over 80 designer outfits worn during red carpets, concerts and music videos
- Geri Halliwell’s iconic Union Jack boots
- Handwritten stage notes, including one from the famous Pepsi commercial
- Prototype sketches of the band’s branded perfume
“Holding the Guinness World Records title has allowed me to continue publicly exhibiting my collection nationally and internationally,” Liz said to Guinness World Records.
In the early days of my career, my collection gave me the opportunity and ultimately allowed me to work full-time as an artist, which was always my dream.
During a 2013 BBC interview, Liz revealed that she would also lend items in her collection to museums and film crews.
“Because I was given that financial boost to start with, my art practice has been able to roll and roll," she explained.
Starting with local showcases in 2008, her Spiceworld: The Exhibition made rounds in the UK as an immersive experience celebrating pop music and the 90s resurgence of Girl Pop. After the first stop in Doncaster, the country-wide tour stopped by several other cities, including Liverpool and London's Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
Liz even wrote a book to accompany the event: Spiceworld: The Exhibition.
The showcase peaked with a 6-month event in Leeds in 2011, attracting nearly 50,000 visitors according to the BBC.
Today, Liz continues to be a lifelong fan of the girl band: during her day-to-day life as an artist, she celebrates her idols using a bright palette of 90s-inspired colours in her artworks.
Her collection inspires and amazes, matching undeniable cultural weight with a fun, pop-culture vibe.
It proves that record-breaking is for everyone, no matter who or where they are. Every passion and talent, as long as it’s nurtured with care and dedication, can grow into a record-breaking achievement.
“Being part of Guinness World Records’ 70th anniversary celebrations is wonderful and a huge honour,” Liz said.
To be chosen amongst all the records globally ever made is incredibly touching. Girl Power!
Be Part of It
Record-breaking is for everyone, everywhere.
That is why, to celebrate its 70th Anniversary, Guinness World Records encourages everyone to take part: discovering the benefits of setting goals, exploring the record ideas that fit their personality with our quiz, or even having a go at setting one of the 70 records that were NEVER set before.
The limit is the sky, for the next generation of achievers.
“As we mark the 70th anniversary of the release of our first edition back in the 1950s, we're proud to be building on 70 amazing years as the global curator of superlative facts and achievements,” says Guinness World Records Editor-in-Chief, Craig Glenday.
“We've seen so many iconic moments,” he continues, “the most amazing feats of strength and skill and endurance from talent across the globe and long may it continue.”
And, certainly, Liz West’s ever-growing collection was one of those iconic records that made pop culture (and GWR) history!