Venturing into a fashion designer’s studio is like breaching his inner sanctum; the actual mechanics of fashion design are things only a select group of assistants, collaborators and press reps get to see. So when set designer Simon Costin invited us to Gareth Pugh’s studio to observe his tests for Pugh’s Spring/Summer 08 presentation, it was for us, a no-brainer.
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When we arrived at Pugh’s East London studio, we were a little surprised to find it bizarrely real. There was no artistic pretense (Alanis Morrisette was blaring out from the stereo), and hardly any stress – a coup considering Pugh’s show was just two days away. ‘It’s quite exciting that nothing is done,’ Pugh mused as he surveyed the room, ‘For me, it’s never finished until the first model actually walks down the runway.’ Around several worktables, assistants quietly pored over material, busying themselves with cuttings and trim, stopping only when Costin began inflating an 8-foot rubber balloon with a small blower fan.
As one of the most adventurous set designers in the fashion industry, Costin knows that you don’t need elaborate props or an unmentionable budget to deliver a big impact. (Costin created the backdrop for our own 10th anniversary dinner party published in Oct 06.) Pugh’s show opened literally with a bang – the balloon was placed at the top of the catwalk, lit under red light, and then burst to kick off the show. Inspired by a scene from Roger Vadim’s 'Barbarella', the gimmick succeeded in ruffling the typically stone-faced fashion crowd. ‘I wanted to create an atmosphere that was playful, not serious, and instantly thought of this camp classic,’ Costin explained. ‘We thought it would be a laugh.’
Costin and Pugh have been close friends since 2003, and have collaborated on Pugh’s show production for the last five seasons. Most memorable for the pair was the inflatable runway of Spring/Summer '07 that sent models, already wearing view-obscuring masks and headgear, stumbling and tripping over themselves. Both share a passion for graphic, surrealist imagery and draw from a wide range of interests for inspiration. Costin listed 1940s decorative art and magic realist directors like Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger and Federico Fellini as sources, while for this show Pugh cited Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker as a key reference, although we would never have guessed it.
