Gareth Pugh S/S 09 Paris

[Kerry]

The first thing which popped up in my mind is Alice in the Wonderland! Generally it's pretty impressive

[mass]

caryn looks amazing!!! she is so classy... i've always had a crush on her.

[jefei]

Originally Posted by polyesterday

this is more about Haute Couture than RTW anyway. Gareth has definately gone into another standard. I'm so excited!

if it's about couture, he's in need of some better pattern cutter n technicians.

[MynameisGreg]

Originally Posted by jefei

if it's about couture, he's in need of some better pattern cutter n technicians.

It is kind of like grunge, industria, club, couture

[jefei]

Originally Posted by MynameisGreg

It is kind of like grunge, industria, club, couture

no boombox, no gareth pugh

[IloveDiorHomme]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ54RDkGnAY

[IloveDiorHomme]

Beyonce can't get enough of Gareth ...

I see Katy Perry in Mario Schwab soon...

[MynameisGreg]

Originally Posted by IloveDiorHomme

Beyonce can't get enough of Gareth ...

I see Katy Perry in Mario Schwab soon...

I kissed the london fashion scene and I liked it, haha please god no

[kahlilg]

b is working the gareth. haters gon hate.

[nyc_art_style]

after a couple of months, I'm finally ready to put my two cents in on this collection.

This is an amazing collection, no doubt. However I feel Gareth is having problems with new ideas. This collection is just recycled and edited pieced from his past collections. The ruffles, half and half tones, and futuristic materials have all been done before by him. His work just seems very repetitive. How is he going to last by rehashing the same stuff over and over?

If he is able to think of some new ideas for next season, then I will be excited to see his work. But if he continues doing the same trends and looks, then he will quickly run out on his 15 minutes.

[Scott]

^but what's so wrong with that? i see so many go all over the place with their work and its terribly confusing and its difficult to take many of them seriously. great designers develop signatures and are able to evolve within that. and from what i can tell early on since michelle and rick began supporting him,he's actually evolved in the signature elements he's built and developed a defining,more refined aesthetic.

[GasolineRainbow]

This may sound insane, but I see close similarities between between Pugh and Alexander Wang. Can they sustain their momentum, and build on something new without losing their well-defined fashion identity?

Both designers took a streetstyle and turned it into a viable fashion brand. Wang did it with basics and Pugh with the industrial/cyber style. Both were very risky in opposite ways; Wang designed ultrawearable clothes whose artistic merit is debated despite its financial success, while Pugh's inarguably high-fashion clothes are criticized for being too "unwearable" and unprofitable.

I find Pugh extremely talented and bold, but I don't equate him with having an original vision, as many have praised him for. His clothes and styling look like they stepped right out of a Giger painting or taken (I won't say ripped) off the back of a rivethead. The clothes were more polished and beautifully made, but they were not his ideas all the same.

All designers heavily borrow stylistic ideas, but Pugh's were also not original in the sense of creating a pastiche of diverse references, or casting that Giger-esque aesthetic in a different light. He did bring it to "the masses", though I hate that term. Same with Wang. So I'm curious about where they will go from here.

[ElectricAlyce]

Originally Posted by GasolineRainbow

look like they stepped right out of a Giger painting or taken (I won't say ripped) off the back of a rivethead. The clothes were more polished and beautifully made, but they were not his ideas all the same.

I disagree... there is certain influences from the industrial/cyber-scene but not significant so when it comes to the clothes in themselves. Rivetheads are much more army-stuff, macho-stuff, dirt, grime, grunge, goggles, macho stomping boots, but none of the refined feminity of Pughs work.

Also, I don't get the point of argumenting with that "oh my, he had influences". 99% of all shows at S/S 09 where re-hashes of re-hashes, with the most interesting things lying in details and interpretations of the past. Then one original appears and it's not original enough because there is influences in his work?

All designers heavily borrow stylistic ideas, but Pugh's were also not original in the sense of creating a pastiche of diverse references, or casting that Giger-esque aesthetic in a different light. He did bring it to "the masses", though I hate that term. Same with Wang. So I'm curious about where they will go from here.

I've seen, to be honest none of the Giger-nesque influences in his S/S 09 collection. In this collection there is a myriad of influences, from historical dressing to minimalism to sci-fi - all combined into a whole cohersive collection.

[GasolineRainbow]

^I can see what you're saying, but for me, what he did is precisely make that style more refined and more feminized, more fashion-friendly, if you will. But then again, many of my encounters with cyber-industrial style were a lot cleaner, elegant, and more feminine than what you described. Very Gareth Pugh. Not that what you described doesn't exist, but it's hardly all I've seen.

I do percieve sporadic work from several other designers as having an original vision, but so far nothing, including the last collection, has me convinced that Pugh deserves that accolade.

But it doesn't matter, as I don't think originality is an necessary quality for a talented designer anyway. It's welcome, but not necessary. Pugh is certainly challenging the fashion world's perspectives, and he creates astonishing clothes, both visually and in their construction, I have no doubt.

[nyc_art_style]

Originally Posted by Scott

^but what's so wrong with that? i see so many go all over the place with their work and its terribly confusing and its difficult to take many of them seriously. great designers develop signatures and are able to evolve within that. and from what i can tell early on since michelle and rick began supporting him,he's actually evolved in the signature elements he's built and developed a defining,more refined aesthetic.

There is a difference between having a refined aesthetic and rehashing ideas. Sure these trends Gareth uses could become signatures of his. However, as you have said, I don't believe Gareth has evolved in his signature pieces. Yes, he is improving. But incorporating new ideas into future collections will be vital to Gareth's career. Collections cannot be only be made up of signature looks (that never change). And after looking at threads for Gareth's past collections, it seems other members have voiced my ideas.