Dress of the Year 2014 - Gareth Pugh

Two days ago the winner of the prestigious ‘Dress of the Year’ award, given by the Bath Fashion museum, was chosen and it was designed by none other than the brilliant English designer Gareth Pugh.

Dress of the Year - Gareth Pugh, AW14

As always the dress of the year is awarded to the best dress of the last year and we think 2014’s ensemble by Gareth Pugh was fantastically chosen in terms of trends – sheer clothing and PVC was quite prevalent by many designers during 2014 (see Jeremy Scott SS14, Miu Miu AW14), but also in terms of message behind the dress. The dress was created by Pugh to show that in fashion and life in general, something can be made out of nothing – a glamorous, ground-breaking dress created out of sheets of plastic.

Plastic dress, 1966

 

We think the dress really harks back to the 60s and 70s vintage dresses, the sixties for their experimentation with fabrics, in particular PVC and plastic, (see above) and the seventies for the diaphanous qualities, a sort of modern day bohemian. The obi belt influenced waist and wrap front that lead up to a high neckline also invoked a sort of 60s space age minimalism meets 1970s ethnic opulence that designers such as Bill Gibb and Zandra Rhodes were renowned for.

Our own billowing Bill Gibb vintage dress, £500. Who won dress of the year in 1970.

 

We’re sure the dress has some critics though, I mean it’s made out of plastic sheeting – not too wearable for most I’d imagine. What do you think of the dress - love it or loathe it?

If you’re interested in seeing past dresses of the year the Bath Fashion Museum has all the past ones from 1963 on their site - http://www.fashionmuseum.co.uk/galleries/dress-year

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