Gareth Pugh fuk@lfw s/s 08

Gareth Pugh knows how to make an entrance. Or rather – he knows how to make clothes that make an entrance. On arrival this afternoon guests to his show at the BFC tents were greeted by the sight of a huge balloon obscuring the opening onto his catwalk. Confusing. How would the models get onto the ramp? The answer soon became clear as with an ear-splitting bang the balloon exploded and several front row editors probably found themselves wishing they'd packed a fresh set of undies. But that wasn't the end of the theatrics: as the first crystal-covered model took to the ramp you had to wonder how she knew when to stop for the cameras, what with her head being entirely encased in a big sparkling cube.

If previous Pugh opuses have tended toward the 'costume' side of dress this season the chattering post-show consensus seemed to be that he'd made an attempt to broach the more wearable, and dare-we-say-it commercial, end of the spectrum. Just how wearable a spray-on dress made of hundreds of painstakingly sewn leather straps or a stole made from mice will be is a moot point but in amongst the fanfare there was a nice blouse or two and a cool cracked leather trench coat. Judy Blame accessories, leather harness headpieces by Nasir Mazhar and hairdressing legend Eugene Souleiman's horse mane updos gave a distinctly equine feeling to a show which posed the question: is Pugh finally courting a more mainstream market or will he keep horsing around?

www.garethpugh.net

Words: Maia Adams
Photos: Ian Gillett