Gareth Pugh Autumn Winter 2015: A Dark Army

Welcome back Gareth Pugh! How we have missed you. The designer has been absent from the London schedule for seven whole years but for good reason - Paris stole him from us, the swines!

There are few designers so incredibly dedicated to a strong (and often far from commercial) aesthetic these days that they choose to eschew trends entirely - but if anywhere in the world could understand and celebrate that kind of creative mind, it's London. This evening Gareth not only provided what he does best - clothes like armour, dramatic black-on-black costume with a futuristic spin - but also a spine tingly moment thanks to his idea for autumn/winter 2015. Inspiration came from the concept of liberation and following a seriously spooky video shot by Ruth Hogben of Aymeline Valade performing a ritualistic act of transformation on a throne (couldn't help but think of Joffrey's here!) models came marching down a dimly lit runway in the V&A Museum with red St George's crosses smeared onto faces by makeup artist Alex Box - creating what Pugh's shownotes described as 'both Saint and dragon at once'. Fierce.

The girls were further ready for battle thanks to protective leather gilets over sweeping maxi skirts, sheltered from the cold by giant padded down tops and jackets, fragile necks covered by ferocious looking collars, ready to react to imminent danger with their porcupine-like spiky embellishment (which was in fact layer upon layer of cut up black drinking straws!) and not scared of a bump or two when wearing a furry beefeater hat. So the archaic wares of war sat alongside not only Pugh's sense of humour (the chants raging over the soundtrack were in fact from Sunderland football team) but also next to more modern twists, like a pair of black flares.

The last model was bare breasted, wearing nothing but her face paint, a corset belt, swishing skirt and carrying a red flag... not a handbag like on most runways. We wonder if Pugh's most unexpected FROW guest ever and pretty liberated babe, Lindsay Lohan, will try this look out soon. Well, she does love England.

See the collection in the gallery below...