Founded in 1980 by editor Nick Logan, the early issues of The Face were patchy and punchy, finding their way, but with the arrival of designer Neville Brody the magazine sorted itself out and assembled a graphic identity through tireless experimenting and tweaking with fonts, layouts, symbols, and logos that looked backward to Bauhaus and forward to the cybernetic future. The photography took full advantage of this improv mix with its own bucking bronco energy and insouciance. A decade after The Face’s debut, destiny had a special treat in store. With a quiet thunderclap the magazine found its muse, its freckled Mona Lisa, its gawky Gidget: teenage model Kate Moss. A more sedate portrait of Kate Moss reigns over the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery titled “The Face Magazine: Culture Shift,” which cracks open the archives to feature over 200 images from its pages. —James Wolcott