Gareth Pugh celebrates 10 years and a return to London Fashion Week

 

11 February 2015

 

Today saw the opening of a retrospective display of Gareth Pugh at the Galleria Melissa in Covent Garden. Pugh's will be the first installation in the footwear brand's gallery space, which opened just last October. This year marks the designer's 10 year anniversary and the decision to exhibit at the Melissa spacious showrooms makes perfect sense since he collaborated with the eponymous Brazilian shoemaker a few years back. What is most exciting about this exhibit is that it happens in London. Pugh first showed at London Fashion Week in February 2005 and since then has collaborated with Nick Knight' Showstudio on numerous projects and subsequently with Knight’s former assistant Ruth Hogben, with whom they championed fashion film as a medium (his Paris shows in A/W 2009 and S/S 2011 were presented in the form of moving images which went viral and set a trend for the medium).

 

After many years of showing mainly in Paris and New York, he has just announced that this year he will be returning to London Fashion Week for a first time in 10 years. The somewhat nano display (containing just 9 outfits) at the Melissa Galleria is just a fraction of his most memorable designs, some of which were made popular by the likes of Kylie and Beyoncé.
It is refreshing to see that Mr Pugh has decided to show his new collection here in London, where he lives and works, it makes sense really, especially after such a long absence. Few would remember the first designs that propelled Pugh to his current status of avant-garde master. His first collection was largely influenced by the club kids culture and their typical love for oversized pieces, circular shapes and his use of balloons or plastics in various forms, exaggerating and distorting the body shape, not too dissimilar to Leigh Bowery's body of work. After a couple of Bowery-esque collections, Pugh took a more geometrical and monochromic approach to fashion and was able to shake off the early comparisons with Leigh.

 

 

 

I first met Gareth Pugh a few years ago when I was working on my book about the London Club-Kids scene. After a quick chat about the scene, I suggested that he write a short quote for the book because many of the new club kids were in awe with his work. He didn't decline right away, but having managed to divert from the scene and finally achieved the recognition he craved, it was obvious that he didn't want to be associated with that scene. In the weeks that followed our meeting my emails to him hit a rock and it was clear that he would not have his name put in the same sentence with the term Club Kid ever again...I beg to differ.  

 

 

  (Text and photography: O.Yordanov©2015)

Fashion Galore : in memory of Isabella Blow

Since Showstudio opened the new wing of Somerset House just over four years ago, it kick-started the trend of showcasing the most important fashion talent of our time. That trend continues today with the opening of their latest must-see show "Fashion Galore". It celebrates one of the most important visionaries in recent history, the late Isabella Blow and features highlights of her extensive (and rather exuberant) wardrobe. Expect to be immersed in a world dominated by wonderful creations by her friends Philip Treacy and Alexander McQueen, numerous hats and avant garde head pieces and as many frocks and gowns and one-off designer dresses that offer a feast to the eyes and feed the imagination of any viewer.

Last night's private view of the exhibition proved how loved and respected Isabella actually was. Despite her disbelief in our appreciation, Isabella was an icon for every club kid or fashion student in London and around the world and last night's launch saw over 200 guests, some of whom close friends and family, many of her peers, fashion insiders, designers and editors, all raising a toast in her memory with a slight air of sadness still, for her passing was rarher premature.
The guestlist (which included pictures next to each name as I discovered) included pretty much every important person of the London social/fashion scene i e: Grace Jones, Honor Frazer, Henry Holland, Stephen Jones, Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes, Princess Beatrice of York, Stella Tenant, Mary J Blige, Nick Knight, Philip Treacy, Daphne Guiness, Liberty Ross and Boy George to name but a few. Canopies were being served from a bird cage with two crows on each side and the cocktails were coming from every direction.
The show itself is a real treat with a healthy mixture of video footage from her personal archive, photographs and of course the fashion collection which was aquired and preserved by her friend and fashion icon Daphne Guiness. On display are also some of her most memorable editorial spreads, collaborations with some of the greatest photographers like Steven Meisel, David Lachapelle and Sean Ellis.

Isabella' s sister Lavinia

Make a note in your diary, the show is opening today. Whether you will be looking for an inspiration for your next outfit or just looking out for a creative spark, you do not want to miss this show.

 

 

 

 

 

©OggyYordanov

Leigh Bowery Book...

Watch Sue Tilley talk about Leigh Bowery in which she depicted the extraordinary life and talent of possibly the most outrageous and creative of all club kids to date. Recommended by my friend Phillip Salon, this book ispired me and opened my eyes to the genius of Leigh back in the day and I passionately urge everyone :

 Find it. Get it. Read it. 

Laterz!

Oggs

Sorapol Presents Euphoria - S/S 2013

Imagine you find yourself at the Vanity Fair Oscars Afterparty around 6am when everyone is completely smashed, yet still trying to keep a straight line. 

Some succeed. Others...not so much. 

Such was the spectacle we witnessed on Friday night at the third fashion show of the fresh new label Sorapol London. 

Impeccably presented was the story of Catherine, a young, rich socialite, who dipped into Pandora's delightfully dangerous box with both hands in search of her dream for a world where the routine of human life is less obsolete; where fantastical extravagance is commonplace. 

The show arrived on a panther-head motorbike, roaring its way through the catwalk, from which point we found ourselves at the centre of this high-society extravaganza, where models were turned into scary dolls; each representing an iconic figure from times past to present. 

And what a guestlist that was. There was a Marilyn, a Whitney, Naomi, Kate and Britney (with her skull-shaven the "IT" style), Beyonce, Eddie Sedgwick and a Marilyn Manson too. To my surprise even a brilliantly drunk "Lindsey Lohan" stumbled amongst them, ravishing her purse and all. 

When I first arrived backstage around 5pm, I was surprised to see a green-haired Aiden Shaw [google him if you must] and our own 'it' boy Luke Worrall, I realised we will finally discover what is Sorapol's man like. He is sexy, tough and with a penchant for leather. A typical performer extraordinaire he must be, which goes also for the rest of the pieces of the show. To me, the strongest statement of this collection is that Sorapol doesn't try to make commercial,  ready-to-wear clothes for the masses, this is a brand that doesn't fit in your 'day-to-day' wardrobe. It sits more comfortably in your 'special-occasions'  one. Conceptual and non-trendy in a good way, as trends are here today, gone tomorrow. Conceptual fashion lasts longer and often is appreciated even more after time. 

The show started about 8pm, almost an hour after the announced time which gave us more time to chat to friends and network a little. Some even opted for a dance [Philip, I'm looking at you...] while I had a lovely chat with the gorgeous Ruth Brown [of The Voice earlier this year] sitting beside me. Apparently she is recording at the moment, so we will quietly wait to see and hear more of her in the future.

It was also, a nice surprise to have Vince Kidd [of The Voice too] closing the show with a live performance of a Mick Jagger classic while models were lining up to make an exit from this party. "This bus terminates here. Please take your belongings." - reality hit in our faces and off we went.

All-in-all the show was bold, avant-garde, elegant at times and crazy at most. It was everything you could expectto see when you step into the world of Sorapol and Daniel Lismore. It is a vision they share and a great passion for the weird and the non-trivial, which I admire in them. 

backstage, a little earlier....

©Oggy Yordanov 2012