About a Doctor in Fashion...

There is no secret that my background is in film production, or at least that's what the three Masters I did say so.

Fashion Industry and designers have always been an absolute mistery behind a veil. So when I had the first opportunity to talk and see with my very own eyes the show for the SS18 that Pam Hogg brought to London Fashion Week, a waterfall of feelings invade me: I'm grateful for the opportunity, super excited and after the show I was left mesmerised and extremely happy. The mixture between tremendous excitment and a deep sense of outta place/intruder invaded me. I haven't overcome the feeling, not sure I will ever do.

PAM HOGG, was awarded a honorary doctorate by the Glasgow University, in 2016, for her contribution to fashion, becoming Dr Hogg. The London Fashion Week website describes her as " self taught in fashion" that single detail makes me even more intrigued about her processes, both mental (creativity) and physical (how does she manages the workload?

Music and film are no strangers to her either, she is a multifaceted artist and with over 30 years of experience, she is so approachable and delightful.

 According to Wikipedia "her first fashion collection was in 1981. She was, one of the new wave of designers who emerged at the beginning of the 1980s in London. Hogg first sold her designs at Hyper Hyper in London's Kensington and later from her own shop in Newburgh Street, always refusing to ‘sell out’ to the mainstream fashion industry. Her collections bore names such as Psychedelic Jungle (1981), Warrior Queen (1989), Best Dressed Chicken in Town, And God Created Woman and Wild Wild Women of the West." 

Also the Vintage Fashion Guild has some interesting bits about Hogg "Her clothes are typically tight, loud, and fetish-influenced and are always inspired by the current club scene — her influences have been drawn from punk, the ‘blitz’ scene and, later, acid house. Her collections were always inventively named, from 1981’s Psychedelic Jungle to 1989’s Warrior Queen and including ‘Best Dressed Chicken in Town’, ‘And God Created Woman’ and ‘Wild Wild Women of the West’. Pam continues to design and is also the lead singer in a group named ‘Doll’."
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COURAGE – Pam Hoggs AW14

From the experience of being directly exposed to her creations I believe the classic battle of conceptual art versus technical proficiency is no more, because it finds on the realm of a designer such as Pam Hogg, both work and creativity, the ultimate fire where both concepts melt into one. 

After decades of being part of the fashion ecosystem, even leaving it and coming back, she has prove herself worth it with incredible talent and an easy going approach. Her designs evolve and develop but the is always extremely wild and naive about them at the same time. Pastel colours soft textures running along with bright fabrics tight to the body.as if she was exploring the human and female complexity in parallel.

INNOCENCE – Pam Hoggs SS18

After the show, I was so impressed that decided to inmerse myself into methodically research this woman creator, this designer. And bringing my skills as producer, I dare to send her some questions for a mini interview.

On a personal note, if anything, I wish Pam Hogg would find the support to take her brand into yet another level. She so deserves it. 
 
Me: Who is Pam? How did your journey within the Fashion Industry begun and when? Could you describe the exact moment when you knew this industry was a vehicle for expressing yourself?

Pam: I never knew until i was part of it, Id been making clothes for myself since I was six years old, it just came naturally.
It was when i had to dress up to get into Blitz, the best club in London at beginning of the 80s with Steve Strange's strict door policy, that my entering the fashion world began. It was purely because everyone wanted to buy what i was wearing, it went from there, it wasn't at all planned.

Me: What where the particular challenges you encountered when starting your career?

Pam: It was fairly easy from the start. I emerged just as everyone especially the Americans craved something new and they came with loads of money to buy up everything innovative they could get their hands on.
My first collections sold in Joseph Harrods Harvey Nichols Bloomingdale and Bendals and numerous small boutiques around the world.
Shop rents were very affordable so i rented one on Newburgh st in Soho and about 6 months later Gaultier opened one at the end of the street. Fashion was exciting and thriving in the 80s

Me: Do you have role models, masters of design or any other artist that you admire?

​Pam: I dont have role models but many I admire including Azadine alia, Theiry Muglar and Montana.

Me: How do you understand the fashion industry in terms of consumers, influencers and the volatile landscape of Social Media?

Pam:  Im quite an outsider in this field as i dont buy or read magazines. I design by feeling, its a more intuitive approach.

Me: Tell us a bit more about this season collection, how it started: ie a concept, an image, an experience, a memory?

Pam: the title is INNOCENCE, which can be rare these days as in this climate of war the young who generally inhabit the world of innocence are stripped of it before they have a chance. Once I have my Title it sets the mood, then i let the abundance of ideas in my head take over.
My only restriction is the fabrics that im able to acquire and the time I have to make everything.

Me: Do you believe or are interested in the "agender" concept when it comes to fashion? If so, why?

Pam: I don't feel any connection to that at all.

Me: How would you describe the people that works with you in your studio?

Pam: I work alone as I have no finances to employ.

Me: What do you consider the challenges of the fashion landscape when it comes to Business and Marketing?

Pam: My main challenge is finding a backer who will see my potential and recognise that my abundance of ideas can easily be streamlined into desirable sellable products. 

Me: How would you describe the science of what you do in one word?

Pam: Intuition.

Highly recomend, for your own aesthetic pleasure dear reader, to follow her instagram: @pamhoggfashion and her know more about  her here: pamhogg.com