Gareth Pugh, a designer rooted in costume, gained prominence after his graduate collection was featured on the cover of Dazed and Confused, leading to collaborations with influential figures like Rick Owens. His brand, known for its gothic, theatrical pieces, has struggled commercially despite a loyal following and high-profile celebrity collaborations. Pugh returned to show in London after seven years for his label's 10th anniversary, celebrating British identity through his designs.

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M O D E R N A R M O U R
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JAMES TUSTIN
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VISUAL RESEARCH JOURNAL

3. Gareth Pugh has his design roots in cos-
tume, in his teens began making costumes
for the National Youth Theatre which lead
him to study at the Sunderland College of Art.
Pugh was first discovered after a piece from
his graduate collection from Central Saint
Martins was featured on the cover of Dazed
and Confused. During this time he interned
for Rick Owens and his talent was spotted
by Owens’ wife Michelle Lamy who too Ga-
reth under her wing. The Rick Owens com-
pany have funded the rise in Gareth Pugh
purchasing a 49% stake in his label and have
introduced him to, and funded the work of
his Italian manufacturers Olmar and Mirta.

4. Gareth Pugh’s eponymous label’s first show
was in London in 2005 and quickly created
something of a cult following, also providing
the brand with enough press exposure to gain
sponsorship from the NEWGEN program .
Garments featured a dark colour-pallet and
were heavily influenced by costume featuring
PVC and inflatable pieces. Much of his history
with costume and gothic clothing is still visible
in Pugh’s collections and performance is still
very influential in his shows, even when other
designers are straying away from theatrics.

5. His theatrical and performance inspired ap-
proach led to Pugh cultivating a relation-
ship with Ruth Hogben of SHOWSTUDIO
fame, the two have collaborated to create
a number of fashion films together. When
he was invited to Pitti Uomo, Gareth pre-
sented a special collection via large-scale
video installation, directed by Hogben.
Gareth Pugh’s first collections consisted
solely of runway pieces that were simply
impossible to purchase, now however piec-
es are available in a number of boutiques
and multi brand stores internationally in-
cluding Dover Street Market and Selfridges.

6. The brand currently has one flagship store in
Hong Kong which was opened in 2011, but
have no plans to open anymore anytime soon.
Commercial success has not come easi-
ly to the brand and there have been times
where Pugh says “he has struggled to make
ends meet”, due to the very nature Gareth
Pugh’s brand of innovative luxury breaking
even becomes difficult. Extreme pieces con-
structed out of fine materials, have proven to
lack appeal to the market who can actually
afford them. The ‘Gareth Pugh Customer’ is
difficult to pinpoint, perhaps the best exam-
ple is Daphne Guinness, whom was a friend
of the late Lee Alexander McQueen and Is-
abella Blow. Guinness has on numerous oc-
casions purchased Pugh’s entire collections.

8. Pugh’s garments are attractive to large cult
following of young fans, mainly in Asia who
religiously follow brands like Gareth Pugh
and Rick Owens. In 2013 the brand collab-
orated with the LA based jewellery brand
Chrome Hearts something that seemed
somewhat natural due to the aligned aesthet-
ics of the brands and their shared fan base,
this was perhaps something in Michelle
Lamy’s mind when she introduced Pugh to
the Stark family behind the Chrome Hearts
brand. The collaboration was produced in
alignment with his S/S14 show and consist-
ed of an assortment of 14 pieces including
boots, gloves, jackets and floor-legnth skirts.
The collection was sold in Chrome Hearts
22 worldwide outlets in very limited numbers
and sold out almost immediately. The collab-
oration was particularly successful because
it showed two brands who create high-qual-
ity, luxury pieces that do not always con-
form to what is described as ‘luxury fashion’.

9. Although nobody would even consider Ga-
reth Pugh to be a mainstream designer, he
has worked with a number of pop-artistes
including Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Rihan-
na. The brand is not particularly active on
social media they has a Twitter account
but only for the studio, when an informal
discussion occurs between the brand and
its 2,731 followers. They also operate their
own Instagram page which mainly features
backstage pictures and showroom snap-
shots. All of these accounts are handled by
Gareth’s partner and showroom manager
Carson McColl. The brand doesn’t operate
a Facebook page, but both Pugh’s latest
and most recent collections have been fea-
tured in both print and online media. Publi-
cations such as Dazed and Confused and
iD featured reviews of his S/S15 show. It is
somewhat unusual that the brand’s online
presence is handled in-house, when their
Public Relations is handled by Karla Otto.

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15. Autumn / Winter 2015 is the first time Ga-
reth Pugh has shown in London in 7 Years.
Previously he has shown in Paris, New
York and Florence. It is a significant home-
coming for Gareth returning to London
where his fashion career started and it is
fitting that such a return would occur on
his eponymous label’s 10th Anniversary.

16. The show was a celebration of Britain and
the brand’s British identity. The chants of
Sunderland Football Club were featured in
the soundtrack, Sunderland being Pugh’s
hometown. Models sported red crosses, the
flag of St. George painted accross their fac-
es. The backdrop for the show was a mov-
ing image piece by Ruth Hogben, featuring
a model cutting her long blond hair again
with the collections signiture body paint.

18. M E D I A
C O V E R A G E
Coverage in print, images left to right:
Time Out & Daphne Guinness, Coco Rocha for US Vogue, Coco Rocha for US Vogue
Dazed and Confused Japan, Andrej Pejic for Dazed and Confused, i-D magazine cover
Carson McColl & Gareth Pugh for i-D, Gareth Pugh for British Vogue, i-D magazine cover

19. Celebrities in Gareth Pugh, images left to right:
Beyoncé
Nicki Minaj, Anna Dello Russo, Rihanna

21. “I ended up at the Met Ball and found myself having a fag with Christian
Slater in the toilets while David Beckham took a piss at the urinal. The
toilets there are a real superstar clusterf*ck. I just couldn’t work out why
I was there.”

22. Gareth Pugh doesn’t operate many social
media accounts but Instagram is a platform
that the brand uses to engage with its pub-
lics. The account is handled by Gareth’s
partner and showroom manager Carson Mc-
Coll and is less proffessional and more like
a personal account, featuring holiday snaps,
backstage shots and snipits from Pugh’s
daily life. @garethpughstudio has 18,500
followers and each image recieves around
300 likes. The account does give followers
a glimps of the off-duty life of Gareth Pugh.

24. Gender: Female / Male
Age: 18-55
Economic Status: Middle/Upper Class
Income level: £60,000 and above
Occupation: The Arts; fashion, music, design, city professional
Demographic: Fashion forward individuals who want to express themselves through their
clothing choices. People who want to push the boundries of gender steriotypes and binary
oppositions.
Lifestyle: Daily life includes spending time with other creatives, trying their hand at something
new, visiting galleries, often going to high profile events but not fitting into the ‘in crowd’.
Psycological profile: A non-conformist and lives life to the idea of contramundum.
Hobbies: Working hard, exploring the world and searching for the newest undescovered thing.
Consumer Habits: She/he shops a couple of times of a month exclusively at high-quality, high end re-
tailers. He is deeply interested quality of the garments and the way in which they make her feel.
THE GARETH PUGH CONSUMER

26. When I considered competitors of Gareth
Pugh I had to reconsider a number of times.
Although the brand has a dark and gothic
aesthetic so fits alongside brands like Rick
Owens, it is aslo very elegant and luxuri-
ous which let me to consider a the likes of
Haider Ackermann. What really proved as a
point of difference for Gareth over designers
like Ann Demeulemeester was his impres-
sive number of collaborations with brands
like Absolute Vodka and Chrome Hearts.

28. C O M P E T I TO R VA L U E P R O P O S I T I O N
Ann Demeulemeester Classic elegance, redifined
Rick Owens Avant-garde, high quality urbanwear
Haider Ackermann Gothing, elongated opulence
Isaac Sellam Innovation, techniqe and quality leather

29. AU D I E N C E AU T H O R I T Y
Formal Professionals looking for
clothes with a twist
Suits, long tuxedo jackets and
‘English pilgrim’ inspired clothing
Young urban creatuves looking
for unique practical clothing
Chunky sneakers, sweatpants
and modal cotton shirts
Fashion aware women seek-
ing luxurious yet contemporary
clothing
Long silhouettes, leather and
texture
Fashion outcasts who want
quality
Quality leather, gothic form,
monochromatic palate.

30. Gareth Pugh doesn’t currenlty have any
standalone retail stores in the UK. The
brand had a flagship store in Hong Kong,
which is significant as Asia is Gareth the
brands strongest area for sales. The brand
does have a small number of retailers and
concessions in the United Kingdom. Sel-
fridges, Layers and 127 Bricklane are its
two retailers in London with the addition of
Hervia Bazaar in Manchester and Liverpool.
International and e-retailers include:
• Antonioli
• L’inde Le Palais
• Ssense
• Luisa Via Roma
• Daad Dantone

32. H O M E • C O L L E C T I O N • S H O P O N L I N E • A R C H I V E S • I N T E RV I E W
M O D E R N
Autumn - Winter 201
I M M E R S I
P E R F O R
Spring - Summer
C O L L E C T I O N
C O L L E C T I O N
© G a r e t h P u g h 2 0 1 5

33. S • S TO R E S • I N S TA G R A M • Y O U T U B E • C O N TA C T
A R M O U R
15 - 2016 ColleCtion
I V E L I V E
R M A N C E
2015 ColleCtion
V I D E O
V I D E O

34. As the brand doesn’t currently have a web-
site or any forum online it is essential to have
a place where all origingal content and infor-
mation can be presented. I looked at a num-
ber of different websites from designers who
share the same aesthetics as Pugh and also
ones from the same sector of the market.

36. G A R E T H
A F T E R
M O D E R N
Late Night Chameleon Cafe • Shack
E8
15

37. H P U G H
P A R T Y
A R M O U R
kwell Studios • 18-24 Shacklewell Lane
8 2EZ
• 2 • 15
8pm

38. For both events I wanted to consider the
AW15 collection and the way it was pre-
sented. I also wanted to take into ac-
count the personality of the brand howev-
er I wanted to help reinvent it. Both buyers
and press know what to expect from Pugh
therefore more luxurious and bright invita-
tions provide a new element of intreague.

39. There is always a presence of black in ev-
erything Gareth Pugh does and very lit-
tle material relating to everything that he
does features very little colour. Of course
there is no sense in completely changing
what we provide guests with as they will
see an air of insincerity, however through
simple reinvetion of press materials a
new look to Gareth Pugh can be created.

40. G A R E T H
A W 2
M O D E R N
Hoxton Gallery • 9 K
E2
21 •
8:3

41. H P U G H
2 0 1 5
A R M O U R
Kingsland Road • London
2 8AA
2 • 15
30pm

42. When considering a location for the after par-
ty there were a number of things to take into
account. It was really important to think about
what would best fit the designer and what
would best fit the guests. Of course Gareth
Pugh is well known for being a party kid and
fits into a ‘scene’ but when comes downs to it
you don’t just want to play up to stereotypes.

43. Evidenlty Gareth Pugh is not a typical lux-
ury designer and it took a lot of time to find
a space that fits in with the brand but also
helps to translate Gareth’s personality. As
LN-CC was refurbished this year it just
seemed like the perfect location, it wasn’t
overly glamerous and in a club but was pol-
ished and fitted with the brand’s identity.

46. I M A G E
R E F E R E N C E S
Gareth Studio: http://www.refinery29.com/static/bin/entry/
de8/x/32239/gareth-pugh-t-magazine-1.jpg
Runway Images: http://garethpugh.blogspot.co.uk/p/collections.
html
AW15 Images: http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/gal-
lery/19369/8/gareth-pugh-aw15
Dazed Press: http://www.tonguechic.com/wp-content/up-
loads/0004/5396/2347801612_251d2cb3a1_o.jpg
Andrej Dazed: http://prettynpoppington.com/wp-content/up-
loads/2011/04/andrejpejic-dazed6.jpg
iD Cover: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/97/fa/5e/
97fa5ee01f6257e6a5ec4b443c56b2cb.jpg
Gareth Carson iD: https://i-d-images.vice.com/images/articles/
meta/2014/10/27/untitled-article-1414420909.jpg?crop=1x-
w:0.4215xh;center,top&resize=1200:*&output-format=image/
jpeg&output-quality=90
Vogue: http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2009/12/14/gareth-pugh-
and-fred-butler-at-showstudio-shop/gallery/436846
iD: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/a2/84/61/
a2846162ccac07770557341b1ca59e56.jpg

47. Gareth Pugh i-D editorial: http://idreamofaworldofcouture.tumblr.
com/post/19684904454
Celebrity Images: http://garethpugh.blogspot.co.uk/p/fa-
mous-fans.html
Rihanna: http://images.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_
Site/20090630/293.rihanna.063009.jpg
Gareth Pugh Quote: http://flavorwire.com/366089/the-fashion-in-
dustrys-10-most-eccentric-designers-2/9