Product Placement and the story of 'the garment'

Firstly, it must be acknowledged that some designers collaborate with film through a genuine interest to express imaginative creativity. On the other hand, some do it looking for cultural capital. This approach is very much about product placement, with of course themselves in mind.

Whilst some could argue that Gareth Pugh's fashion films are very much an advertisement of his clothing - "product placement", he does not inundate his films with branding and labelling. They are enigmatic. The clothing speaks for itself in the beautiful fabrics, texture and movement. I don't think he has created the films with advertisement in his mind. If someone watched his films having not known what they were for, they may not even recognise the intention behind them: Pugh's alternate way to exhibiting his clothing against the mainstream catwalk.

Gareth Pugh's fashion films are very much a form of spectacle. He claims to bring forth an expression of his creativity - to communicate his ideas. His films do not follow the classic Hollywood narrative. This is his intervention to mainstream catwalk by crossing over into the interface of cinematic text/film. In this way, Pugh goes against the traditional use of costumes and sensationalises the clothes. It is a different strategy for audiences to identify differently with the clothes. The narrative can actually be told through the garment itself as oppose to on a defined body. This is the same with the likes of Alexander McQueen. This may be the reason why Pugh remains to fragment the bodies in the editing process of his films, creating seemingly mysterious and unconventional hybrid creatures. It could be to place further emphasis on the clothes.

What I did find interesting, was that Pugh said in an interview that he was trying to work on the balance between art and commerce. Whilst his collections are extremely avant-garde, his stance from the beginning has been to purely communicate his ideas as a designer. After a collection not having made many sales, he recognised that he was not mainstream influential and that he needed to find a balance in order to remain successful in the world of modern consumption.