Gareth Pugh

Gareth Pugh (born 31 August 1981) is an English fashion designer based in London. He is known for his unconventional use of volume and form when designing outfits, and his work is described as performance art. He achieved prominence in the Kashpoint's Autumn 2005 Alternative Fashion Week group show, and he made his solo premiere in London's Fall 2006 fashion week. Due to his focus on experimental fashion, Pugh has had limited success selling wearable clothes. Instead, his projects are funded through patronage by Rick Owens and Michèle Lamy. His designs have been sported by notable performers, including Kylie Minogue, Beyoncé, and Lady Gaga.

Career

At 14, Pugh began working as a costume designer for the National Youth Theatre. Pugh had only four weeks, with no studio, no assistants, and little money, to create the collection. Pugh's shows have continued to draw critical praise. British Vogue, for instance, called his Spring 2007 collection "an incredible, unmissable show" and said that "his genius is undeniable." Anna Wintour is a notable supporter of Pugh's designs. and on the cover of her single "Let Me Know", and on other occasions. Minogue has been seen wearing the same dress in her 2008 video for her single "In My Arms". Beyoncé wore Pugh at the MTV Europe Awards in 2008, and for her "Diva" video. Singer Lady Gaga wore a jacket designed by Pugh at the Wango Tango concert in 2009, another piece on X Factor, and most recently to her ARTPOP premiere at ArtRave. Ashlee Simpson wore a leather and clear plastic striped Gareth Pugh dress in her video "Outta My Head." British pop music duo Pet Shop Boys wore Gareth Pugh outfits at their iconic performance at the 2012 Summer Olympics, with a reinterpreted design inspired by their post-modern look during their 1993 Very era.

In 2010, Gareth Pugh opened his first boutique in Hong Kong.

Pugh was mentioned in a song by Kazaky, a Ukrainian dance music group.

In 2014, fashion journalist and stylist Katie Grand was invited by the Fashion Museum, Bath, to select an outfit to represent that year in their Dress of the Year collection. She chose one of Gareth Pugh's ensembles, a wrapped outfit in calico and plastic sheeting. Later in spring-summer LFW of 2019, the Virgin Voyages revealed the collection designed by Pugh for the group.

Aesthetic

Style.com describes Pugh as the "latest addition to a long tradition of fashion-as-performance-art that stretches back through Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, and Vivienne Westwood to the eighties club culture of Leigh Bowery." Pugh's collections are autobiographical rather than referential, and draw inspiration from Britain's extreme club scene. he has used materials including mink, parachute silk, foam footballs, afro-weave synthetic and human hair, and electrically charged plastic in his clothing. (Until his Spring 2007 collection, his clothes were solely catwalk experiments and simply unavailable to purchase. (A court order ultimately forced him to leave the building. and he has partnered with Rick Owens and Michéle Lamy, who hold a 49% interest in Gareth Pugh's firm. The husband and wife team now fund all of Pugh's collection development, production and marketing activities. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Sunderland in 2018.