Gareth Pugh Fall/Winter 2018 Ready-to-Wear Review
Towering women stomped down the concrete runway in platform leather boots, aggressively corseted waists, and massive shoulder pads during Gareth Pugh's latest presentation. Pugh said he wanted to get back to why he wanted to design clothes in the first place with this collection, and what came forth was his twisted interpretation of power dressing. There are no inclinations that Pugh doesn't dress women who have strength and passion. These women must be ready to pounce and disrupt, as well as have self confidence and a sense of balance. Pugh himself also desires to have these qualities when he's designing and he does so by gradually increasing his aesthetic ideas, while sticking true to his base silhouettes season after season.
The Gareth Pugh look always consists of geometric, armor like shapes that elongate the body, by straightening the spine and controlling the hips. This exists in every proposal of Pugh's. What's timely about this collection are the introduction of cobalt blue and leopard print textiles, which created healthy contrasts to Pugh's signature black to grey color palette. These two fabric choices contrast each other, yet work together to make the collection stand out. Benefits to this collection included the wearablilty of the crumpled, high waisted trousers and sharp leather coats. Pugh stated that every single piece of this collection will be for sale, rather than just selling the watered-down versions. This is a confident statement about Pugh's desire to create and sell the truest form of his expression.
Pugh referenced the anticapitalist artist Michael Landy's performance piece, entitled "Break Down", when explaining this collection. The performance consisted of Landy taking all of his belongings to a rented-out car park and destroying each possession, one at a time. Perhaps the weight of owning things is the reason Pugh's woman needs massive shoulders; to hold everything up. However, these shoulder pads carried their own weight and strain on the wearer, like power dressing gone wrong. Other things that point to the brutal power dressing were the barbed wire accessories, smeared lipstick, and glistening, bruised makeup.
Pugh certainly isn't letting go of his Brutalist fashion principles. Reinventing the wheel is also not his main concern. At this point in his career, what Pugh desires is to be completely unforgiving about his creations and isn't watering any of it down to please some corporate suits who don't understand the first thing about fashion. Instead he has a take no prisoners attitude and his diehard fans will benefit from it.
Photos Courtesy of VogueRunway.com