Gareth Pugh SS 2012 Review

If you’ve been following Gareth Pugh’s collections since his early days in London (which weren’t that long ago) you’ll no doubt have noticed how polished and refined his collections have become since decamping to Paris and getting a cash injection from LVMH. He’s striking a perfect balance between commercial and avant garde doing his darndest to please both fashionistas and buyers alike. And he’s succeeding.

Initially I shat on the collection but let it sink in for a while, looked at detail shots, watched the runway video and then ended up liking it very much.

HOWEVER

Things I didn’t like: His penchant for handkerchief point dresses. You can create movement without reverting to such an awful cut. The black and white graphic print that lined one of his jackets. It looks like something from MS Paint, not high fashion. The asymmetric cut jackets. It’s just so unfashionable and is like a school project. Ooh I’m so avant garde I cut things on angles!

I thought the fibreglass helmets were powerful and beautifully made thanks to a collaboration with Phillip Treacy. The inflatable elements add such an interesting dimension to the clothes and I implore you to watch the video because the movement is astounding.

GET INSPIRED

Boot by Jil Sander. Bag by Alexander McQueen. Would you just look at that little skull nesting in fur! So cute. 

Long flowy coaty shit is best for next fall or if you're like me and live in the Southern hemisphere it's best for right now. From top left: Theyskens Theory, Antonio Berardi, Gucci, Gareth Pugh, Alexander Wang, Doo Ri. 

Camilla Skovgaard. I diiiie

Creepy 40's flesh boot by Prada. Weiiiird. And glittery, suede bootie from Miu Miu. Coooool.

2010 Fashionings of note (that makes no sense but I didn’t want to say milestones or high points coz I’m throwing in low points and I thought I’d combine fashion and musings into one word. You feelin’ my genius right now? Probs not.

Firstly I hope you had a great new years. I sprawled out on my friends couch in my Kate Moss t-shirt and drank booze till the wee hours. The next day I hid in my flat until sundown then made a hasty trip to McDonalds veiled by darkness. The shame.

This is my year end round up of things that were of note for 2010. A little book-end to a year of blogging if you will.

Alexander McQueen commits suicide. A true fashion genius gone.

Sarah Burton debuts at McQueen. She did a resort collection that was well received but Spring Summer 2011 was her first fully fledged collection. Everyone heaved a huge sigh of relief that the house of McQueen has been left in capable hands. Burton wants to move away from McQueen's theatrics and her designs will be softer, with less angst. Take that as you will.

Gareth Pugh opens first store in Hong Kong. Not a major news item but a great indicator of how far Pugh has come in such a short time. Interesting that Hong Kong was chosen over Shanghai or Beijing. Everyone in luxury fashion is all about the mainland right now. Maybe in a few years time?

Carine Roitfeld resigns/got fired/was asked to leave French Vogue. After 10 years of pushing boundaries Roitfeld’s image is tarnished by being banned from all Balenciaga shows and rumours of consulting for Max Mara. Apparently she lent out Balenciaga clothes to Max Mara. That's so not fashion C-Roit.

Also, Russian Vogue's Aliona Doletskaya steps down as editor in chief, Sally Singer runs from American Vogue and becomes editor-in-chief of T Magazine and Stefano Tonchi leaves T Magazine for W.

Aliona

Singer

Tonchi

Tom Ford is back. 

Mary Katrantzou. Getting rave reviews for her stunning Home and Garden printed dresses.

Photographer Corrine Day passes away. 

The bride wore Givenchy. Lara Stone got married. Aww.

But I much prefer what she wore to the reception. Super short and shiny Givenchy.

So roll on 2011. And while you're at it, make some resolutions like Chloe Seven-yee

Gareth Pugh Spring Summer 2011

In the lead-up to Gareth Pugh’s show for spring 2011 I fished around the web and decided to take a look at my long-neglected Twitter account to see if there was any info about it.

I read a few angry tweets from some bitter fashion weirdos that he was showing a video and skipping the runway show. From someone who doesn’t attend the front rows of Paris (totes wish I was) I personally don’t care if it’s video or runway. At the end of the day I view everything on a computer screen (like a massive loser).

The collection is really more of the same we’ve seen from Pugh since he gained financial backing from LVMH, what was it, 3 seasons ago? The same being rather polite, commercial, approachable fashion and that’s not very Pugh at all.

There were wide leg trousers, asymmetric leather jackets and long silk tops in black, white and grey. The colour scheme overall was unadventurous and felt like a pretentious goth club hangup but who am I to judge? My idea of edgy is double denim. Kerazebomz!!

As the clothes become less theatrical and more wearable they look a lot like something Rick Owens would do which isn’t surprising considering he interned with Owens. In LVMH’s hasty attempt to commodify Pugh I think his room for growth as a creative talent is being stunted. It seems ironic that throwing money at a young designer such as Pugh would staunch his creativity. When he should be freed up to really create something outstanding I get the feeling he’s stressing about money and sales. That’s the impression I get when looking at this collection.

On the other hand he has a newly opened store in Hong Kong and that won’t pay for itself and to get LVMH financing is May-jah when there are so many struggling young designers who can only dream of being in Pugh’s shoes.

I feel like he should still be exploring who he is as a designer, an artist, a person but this collection was mostly things we’ve seen before and felt too familiar. You could argue that he’s building upon a signature but we’re talking about a designer who’s got less than 10 collections under his belt.

I know that it’s fashion and fashion is about selling a product but Pugh is capable of so much more than just that. He’s one of only a handful of designers working today who can push the limits of fashion, art and sheer spectacle.

SHE STOLE IT!

Gareth Pugh Spring Summer 2011. 

It's just a sweet sweet fantasy baby

Gareth Pugh Becomes Increasingly More Wearable

Love this look from Gareth Pugh's Fall 2010 collection. Since Prada did raw edges for Spring 2010 it's popped up on quite a number of Fall shows, Pugh included.

Pugh is displaying a lot of maturity since showing in Paris and the dazzling, theatrical shows he put on in London seem like a distant memory. He seems in favour of doing chic, wearable clothes. It's so much more refined now don't you think?

GARETH PUGH SPRING 2010

It was a great day for fans of Gareth Pugh. Instead of his usual over the top creations he pulled in the reins and made something far more approachable and more importantly, wearable. At first I thought some pieces looked too similar to his previous work but I don’t think that’s a bad thing because finally those fans can actually wear his work where as previously it was confined to editorial pieces, celebrities wanting attention and the sartorially brave.

The collection was very covered up, from ankle to wrist for most looks. A curling, zippered collar peeled away leaving a small section of skin exposed on jackets and corsets. One look effectively reversed that look by covering that small section of chest and exposing everything else, breasts included. At first it looked like a winter collection but really what he presented was a great selection of separates. Pull the dress and the pants apart and pair the pants with a t-shirt.
And yes, those zips. There were plenty to play with giving options on how you want to wear a coat. The coats appeared to be in leather and I’m not sure how they’ll fare in summer but whatever, we’re trans-seasonal now right? There were touches of corsetry done in ribbon that was so bunched and twisted it gave an interesting texture to a top and pant. Sexy peek-a-boo pants made of strips were inserted into the shin and lower thigh area. This insert idea is a popular trend emerging for pants and has been seen on other runways such as Gucci.
Presumably gearing his work towards more retail-friendly clothes, Pugh should see a surge in sales next season which is exactly what LVMH, who foot the bill, want to see.

Oh God I'm Back

It's been tooo long. Really it has. I've missed you all so much & I feel like such a terrible blogger....nah, I could give a fuck. I've been mass' busy at school (had to create an entire outfit!) but now I'm on a break & all is well. So since I last blogged quite alot has happened in the world of fashion....in no particular order *Resort collections (what the fuck's with that anyway?) *SS 08/09 menswear collections *YSL passed away *Gareth Pugh is going to Paris *LV & Comme Des Garcon collaborate on handbag line *Alexander McQueen opens new store in LA, will return to advertising in magazines & cut back on show expenditures (so sad) *Chloe has a new head designer. Paolo Melim Andersson makes sure the hand-pieced silk screen door doesn't hit his ass on the way out. *Sex & The City movie released to much fan-fare. Except for Vivienne Westwood. Oh god the list goes ya know. So yeah, what exactly IS going on with Resort? 5 years ago anyone worth their Pierre Hardy gladiator boots would've said "resort who?" Now it's full on shows & extravaganzas. Fuck, I mean look at Karl at Chanel. It borders on fashion porn. Speaking of fashion porn, Sex & The City the movie. Any thoughts? I'm a die-hard fan of SATC & I know everyone who watched SATC would say that but I've watched every episode a zillion times. Love it. Can't get enough. But the movie? Didn't like it that much. I'm die-hard as I've already told you so there's no questions about me buying the DVD but the fashion was too overwhelming & I actually felt sickened. There I said it. Please don't get me wrong, I love the show it's just the amount of product placement & the thousands, likely millions of dollars companies paid to hawk their wares in the film.....you have to agree, no matter how much you loved the movie, you have to agree with me, it was often sickening. Phew. I'm almost done, promise. *Menswear in Milan. I'm not a huge follower of menswear but I still had to look at what was on offer. Jil Sander was fantastic despite the average reviews. I still love ya Raf. *Chloe gives the boot to Paolo. Honestly I never liked what he did. Yes, if he'd actually been given more than three seasons he would've found his groove but they were shit. There was a steep curve from his first 2 collections to the last. The first two were very 'I'm here, fuck you Phoebe Philo loving bitches, this is what fashion is about' but then the last collection was more 'ok you were right'. Can't remember the new designers name but she's worked on the Chloe team for quite a few years from what I've heard so that's a good sign. OK, that's enough for now. I'm drinking cheap wine while typing this & gradually getting more drunk & think I've overwhelmed you all enough with my opinions so scream back at me, leave a comment, tell me to go fuck myself with a slingback, I'll take it all in my stride, promise.