Fall 2009 Fashion Collection: Gareth Pugh

Gareth Pugh has long been one of the most unusual names in fashion. Though he almost never stretches his color choices beyond black or silver, the cut of the garments is always the most noteworthy part of his collections. In the past, he has created a garment that was an actual cube, shaped as a big box that covered the model completely. His collections are much closer to art than actual fashion, especially if you consider that he always shows as a ready-to-wear designer rather than in couture where his designs might typically work better.

But in his latest Fall 2009 collection, he has done something quite unusual. He created several pieces that actually manage to be wearable. And for Gareth Pugh, this could possibly be the worst critique possible.

One of his designs features a tight, fitted dress, and long black sleeves. The sleeves continue up past the shoulders, and one instantly realizes that something looks very wrong with that picture. The reason why is simple. Other designers would have softened the look and backed off when they got to the shoulders. Even if they extended them past the shoulders, they would have made them more gentle looking. But Gareth Pugh did them in such a way so that they look like the shoulders simply shifted upwards. And it's not until you really stop and think about the overall effect that you realize that it looks like the model's shoulders are invisible. Her head extends from the top of the dress, just as it should, and you can trace the outline of where her shoulders should be based on where the sleeves are, but you realize that they aren't there. It's quite a stunning illusion.

On another outfit, Pugh pulls the cube idea once more, only this time it's on a hat. But once you get past the ridiculousness of the hat, you realize that there's a rather lovely suit underneath it. The top portion is somewhat like a futuristic changshan, and the bottom is a pair of lovely flared trousers.

Other outfits are a bit futuristic, but nothing really strays too far from what other designers are doing. On one pair of pants, they are nothing more special than a pair of cigarette pants, done in a fabric which has threads that stand up and out from the fabric. The overall effect is interesting, creating a human porcupine sort of look, but even then, it's not really noteworthy apart from the fabric. And the fabric alone isn't enough to really change the whole idea of a garment like Pugh used to do. There isn't the pure weirdness that used to accompany his collection.

Sadly, it's this weirdness that I used to despise the most. But now that it isn't there, I have to say that I miss it somewhat. It used to be dependably strange, but it also challenged me to think outside of how I normally define fashion. And when the only thing that's different is the fabric, it feels like something is missing.