Gareth Pugh Spring Summer 2007 collections
The cotton-covered runway suddenly inflated into a billowing river, and out stepped a latex-masked creature in humongous Lucite platforms and a full-skirted checkerboard dress. He, she, it (gender soon ceased to matter) was followed by yet more outrageous figures, their completely covered bodies and faces sprouting 3-D geometrical protrusions. Each was wearing some kind of coat made in bristling patchworks of black-and-white vinyl, survival-blanket silver foil, or plastic blown up with air.
Welcome to the insane world of Gareth Pugh, a young man capable of distorting the human body almost beyond recognition. Get sucked in for a moment, and you can believe you're watching characters from some monstrous sci-fi computer animation coming to life before your eyes. On that level—i.e., the level of mind-altering theatrics—what Pugh's up to is very well done. He gets it partly from his background as a costume designer (at the precocious age of 14) for the English National Youth Theatre, and partly from London's extreme club scene.
http://www.unaburke.com/index.html
| " | Through my work I continually aim to create leather objects which are both visually captivating and technically challenging. They are pieces of wearable art which are indefinable as particular garments, preventing them from being placed into the conventional categories of the fashion industry. They are free to exist just as the objects that they are, interpreted independently by each individual. I use traditional leatherworking techniques to produce these evocative, conceptual creations. In doing this I hope to encourage a new and more modern appreciation for leather craftsmanship and present the possibilities achievable through the use of this material in both the areas of art and of functional design." |
