Gareth Pugh is one of Britain’s most original young designers and that’s a fact. Yet I have a strange feeling about him, mainly generated by the British fashion media’s constant raving and ranting about him. “Genius”, “impressive”, “brilliant”, “extremely talented”: hyperbolic adjectives are the norm when Pugh’s name is mentioned by the British press. Now, if you have even the slightest knowledge of the fashion industry, you will know that having your name hosannaed by the press doesn’t mean you have the necessary amount of money in the bank to get on, not only with your collections, but also with your daily life.
I always thought that if you champion somebody’s designs – and you can afford it – you might as well buy their stuff. Isabella Blow firmly believed in Alexander McQueen and supported him by buying his entire degree collection and paying for it over a long period of time. I’d like to have a list of names of all the journalists who raved and ranted about Gareth Pugh and also had the guts of buying AND wearing one of his most outlandish creations.
At least France was less of an hypocrite than Great Britain: earlier this year Pugh received the French ANDAM (Association Nationale pour le Developpement des Arts de la Mode) award for new talent. Now, if Pugh was so great, why wasn’t he give by some kind of British fashion board €150,000 to develop his business? Yes, ANDAM is supported by big companies such as Longchamp and The Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent Foundation, while the LVMH Group and Swarovski are among its partners, but I’m pretty sure that, if you really want, you can find the necessary money to support your supposed geniuses.
There are moments when I get worried about Gareth Pugh: I often wonder if those same British fashion journalists who so far professed to love him, will one day turn nasty and start saying he’s just a fetishist cyber-Goth producing bizarre haute couture costumes. Maybe this won’t happen in the nearest future though: at yesterday’s fashion show in Paris, Pugh presented a collection inspired by Hamlet and Elizabeth I, references that usually provoke a sickly patriotic effect on the British fashion media.
Pugh’s Spring/Summer 09 collection had an optical look: only two contrasting colours – black and white – were used in all the outfits that were created by juxtaposing different materials such as fabric, leather, plastic and even eel skin. Dresses had white fronts and black backs; huge bi-coloured rigid ruffs with tightly closed pleats completed some outfits; three-dimensional scales decorated mini-dresses and trouser suits, while the armour theme was strong, especially in Pugh’s most sculptural outfits.
Armours have often been a reference point for many designers – not many might remember, but Capucci did armour-like haute couture evening dresses almost twenty years ago – but, if you read the British press, Pugh seems to be the only one who ever thought about it. Jewellery by Judy Blame, hand-made gloves by Simon Azoulay and footwear designerd by Pugh completed this rather futuristic collection.
Pugh has given joy to the British fashion media: he has invaded with his excessive dark and scary mood the French catwalks, representing his country in a freshly anarchist way. So far, no British journalists claimed yesterday’s collection lacked his trademark gothic exuberance or intensity, even though this collection is certainly more saleable than his previous ones. Indeed there was no trace of deranged inflatable garments, while his bi-coloured chiffon coat and trouser suits looked absolutely wearable.
For the time being Pugh has escaped nasty comments and criticisms and, yes, he’s still a “genius”, but I’m curious to see how his career will develop from now on and what they British press will say about him in future. There’s one thing I’m just extremely happy that regards Pugh: exposed to the Parisian atmosphere and to the French fashion scene, the young designer might open up and explore the possibilities offered by high quality materials (he has already done so in a way as this collection was manufactured in Italy) and leave his adored plastic behind.
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