Gareth Pugh S/S 09 Paris

Forums New posts
Beyonce can't get enough of Gareth ...

I see Katy Perry in Mario Schwab soon...
 
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.
 
^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.
 
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.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
GasolineRainbow said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
^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.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Scott said:
^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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
^If this is true, can we not say the same thing about Rick Owens? I like that he is molding and shaping his image consistanly and efficently over time.
 
Rightguard said:
^If this is true, can we not say the same thing about Rick Owens? I like that he is molding and shaping his image consistanly and efficently over time.
Click to expand...

My thoughts excatly. Certain designers evolve in their own niche, rather than trying to hang on to what might be "trendy" at the time. It's not about "ohmydear, it's autumn, and this autumn, goth is back, so lets use lots of lace!". It's something that is alienated from the fashion cycle and trends, yet is still contemporary and not stale. Personally, I don't get the attacks that he needs something fresh, because I see only slight similarities in his collections. It's the same foundation, but it's still undeniably different from what he already has done. It's wierd, because it seems as though Pugh is on another level from the rest of the fashion world, and is judged as such. He does something radical different, changes much more than 99% of the rest of the houses, but is still judged on his 'lack of new things'. How come? I admire Pugh for the same thing as I admire Rick Owens for... there is something so PUNK about them both, as they don't give a rats about trends, fashion cycles, critics or anyone, they just want to make clothes that challenges and interests, for themselves and anyone who cares to try and understand. It's not about the monogramed logo-bags, it's not about the RADICAL new details in the little black dress... It's something completely else.

About the 'stealing from the industrial scene' I still don't get the critics (although we mostly agree, GasolineRainbow). Each year there is a million takes on goth, punk, mod etc... yet to date, nobody has tried to make extravagant fashion out of the aesthetics of cyber/industrial culture. I think the influences are there, but not directly so (maybe more in his previous collections). I have yet to see cybergoths or rivetheads going around in something like his S/S 09 collection.
 
Does anyone remember... there was a rando candid pic somewhere of a woman wearing Lily's dress without the collar. This was so long ago but I have no idea how I could even find it now lol.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar Threads

J
Fashion East - Gareth Pugh S/S 06 London
2
Replies
38
Views
4K
BerlinRocks
B
W
Gareth Pugh S/S 11 Paris
2 3
Replies
58
Views
10K
Street_a_Licious
S
W
Gareth Pugh F/W 09.10 Paris
4 5 6 7 8
Replies
159
Views
21K
BerlinRocks
B
L
Gareth Pugh F/W 09.10 Singapore
Replies
6
Views
1K
nyc_art_style
nyc_art_style
I
Gareth Pugh Mens F/W 09.10 Paris
2 3 4 5
Replies
93
Views
16K
Ryan Weld
R

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)

New Posts

Forum Statistics

Threads
213,458
Messages
15,223,647
Members
87,340
Latest member
lcarron

Share This Page

Back
Top