* Photo above by Jonas Gustavsson for the L.A. Times.
He's been the visionary DIY darling of the fashion world for a few years now, but with the generally good reception for his first-ever men's collection in Paris late last month, 27-year-old Gareth Pugh is now positively "made" as a rising star in contemporary fashion. For this show, his London cohort Matthew Stone mixed the runway music "from scratch"; you can download the audio at that link. Here's a video. The D.F. fashion blog raras coincidencias neoyorquinas has more.
There's this sinister, razor-sharp madness -- both elegant and escapist -- sustained throughout Pugh's designs that seems wholly relevant to our times, not as a reflection of them but as their antidote. He's got me convinced more than ever: You can never over-emphasize the shamanic strength of the color black.
Here's a feature on Gareth in the current New York Times's T Magazine, which remembers a time when the designer would work -- out of necessity -- with garbage bags. Now Beyonce is wearing him, a lot. And, is it just me, or is Pugh also kinda channeling a bit of Mexico City goth?