Runway Review: Gareth Pugh Fall 2009 RTW Video

When I heard that Gareth Pugh's Autumn/Winter 2009 presentation was going to be via video, I was a little weary. But this video was actually quite artistically made and beautiful to watch. Also, it makes fashion seem more accessible to know that it went live at the same time that editors in Paris were watching it, it became available on SHOWstudio.com

The video is sort of creepy, especially with the sound track and the model Natasa Vojnovic looked impossible skinny, tall and unreal. She sort of reminded me of the White Queen in the Chronicles of Narnia. The most interesting part of the video was the incredible degree of movement and transformation it lent the clothing. It matched the sinister nature of the Rorschach inkblot that scrawled slowly across the screen.

As for the clothes themselves, they were limited to a simple palette of black and metallic pewter, a Pugh favorite. The black was made interesting in the varying degrees of texture, whether it be sheer, pleated, matte, shiny, fluffy or embedded with what appears to be thousands of pin heads (DANGER!).

Shoulders continue to be important but the shoulders are a bit softer and more rounded with a top heavy inverted triangle silhouette on some items, but also the reverse trapeze effect on others. Pants are sometimes skin tight, but other times belled out.

The pewter with black lent a very futuristic mood towards the close of the show. Below are my two favorite dresses, as they seem to be surprisingly wearable and they remind me faintly of The Jetsons.