Sunday 20 September 2009

Sun 20th Sept: GUEST POST: Naomi at Pam Hogg – Tighty-tight is quite alright

Late as usual, I had to run, (yes run, me in my denim body-con dress with pagoda shoulders) to catch the first look of the Pam Hogg show. The absolutely glittering galaxy of stars in the front row belied the grungy, underground carpark in which the runway had been constructed.

The loyal Hoggettes were fired up with anticipation, resulting in an atmosphere quite unlike the usual library-like hush of the BFC tents and more like a much-anticipated gig or party about to take off. On her press release Ms Hogg forwent the usual descriptive setting of the scene that you get at most collections to simply thank everyone, saying “the goodwill that pours my way is staggering” and you could absolutely sense that in the space. A collective outpouring of ‘Come on Pam!’ radiated between the concrete pillars.

The collection itself was very slick and gave off a well-organised sheen, a kind of comprehensive, covering-of-all-bases feeling. Starting off where AW 09 left off, with catsuits and body-con dresses featuring her trademark geometric panels. This time round though, the neon colours had been replaced with stark monochrome.



The ‘it’s alright to be tight’ theme progressed throughout the collection, and the colour palette progressed to pastels, then metallics . . .

. . . then finally brights, and eventually a bit of draping was showcased, as demonstrated here by Alice Dellal.



Finally, a studded section was rounded off with a particularly Billy Idol “It’s a nice day for a white wedding . . .” take on the bridal gown that closes every couture show. Nice twist.



Afterwards I dashed into the crowd, hoping to get a quick quote from Bishi, whose marvellous quiff had been conspicuous in the front row. Somehow she had disappeared, so I had to settle for vox-popping nearby 80's ICON of wonderment, Boy George.

Did he enjoy the show?

“Yes, I think Pam’s great. My favourite part was the Elvis references. Did you notice the Elvis theme running through the collection?”

Only when I looked back at the pictures, George. Will he be channelling any of the ideas shown tonight?
“No way. These clothes are designed for Amazonian women, not the likes of me. Pam’s very good at what she does, which was a sleek, chic and rockin’ collection. I found it to be very commercial”

Yikes! All I can say is, if you’re going to do 80s, you may as well do it right.

Naomi




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