The woman in BLACK.

I am and will always be a fan of couture creations and eccentric fashion pieces- albeit in a distanced manner. It is probably as a result of my art history training for my degree but regardless of whether an ensemble is practical, wearable or aesthetically pleasing in a traditional or commercially viable sense I will always have a deep level of respect for the creative mind who envisioned it and the skillful hands which created it. The weird and wonderful creations of the Haus of Gaga never cease to amaze me with their use of unusual materials like rubber and glass, and the surprising and entirely unconventional shapes and cut of the garments produced. I would never wear such items myself but can appreciate the time and effort that went into producing them. Usually, and most often with Gaga, the shock factor of such clothing is due to the vast amount of skin on show, the overt sexual nature of the clothing or just the plain weirdness of the items which not many would consider actual clothing. As I was reading a few articles from the Telegraph online I came across this image of Daphne Guiness at the opening of the new Acne studio in London which prompted me to think of the health and safety risks of clothing:

Now Daphne Guiness is renowned for wearing obscure couture creations- she was the first to wear those astonishingly high and seemingly pain inducing armadillo heels from McQueen (after Gaga in her video for Bad Romance)- so at first glance this Gareth Pugh designed look might not strike you as provocative or shocking being a fairly simple all black biker look. But then on closer inspection you notice that the fabric is leather which has been studded all over with nails....

How heavy must this be!! And how on earth do you get it on without pricking your fingers?! You must have to wear specially made gloves and have several assistants on hand for the fitting. I'm assuming that the jacket/top must have a zip fastening at the back because pulling it over your head would be near impossible! But after continued thought on the topic this is hardly a shocking piece considering the designer and his signature aesthetic of futuristic, dramatic, alien-like subversive, S&M creations. I'm aware that was a lengthy string of adjectives but Pugh's designs are so striking and unusual that it is incredibly difficult to categorize them within the confines of traditional journalistic vocabulary. Pugh's work is just best left expressed by the images of the looks themselves: