Insane Indoor Tornado at NYFW Courtesy of Gareth Pugh

Upcoming designer Gareth Pugh builds an indoor tornado for his 2015 NYFW runway show.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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"It’s an idea of building something up and tearing it down again, which then leads to the end thing. [The model is] down on the ground like a maple with all these fabric strips, which then raise up and form this image like a phoenix. It’s birth, renewal, death, and rebirth. When something ends, something new begins. It’s kind of, for me, an optimistic message. And then at 10:30, we run the whole thing again."

This is what underground designer Gareth Pugh told New York Magazine about his spectacular New York Fashion Week S/S 2015 show, which contained ballet dancers, powerful video projections and a genuine indoor tornado. Pugh is a young English designer who counts Rick Owens and Michele Lamy amongst his backers, which makes sense given the dark and theatrical nature of his clothing.  This year he was fortunate to be backed by Lexus Design Disrupted, the site of several daring concepts at fashion week.

He goes on to explain how the indoor tornado (made visible with a smoke machine) was created:

"There’s a guy Daniel Wurtzel, who’s an artist who creates all these amazing installations with air. I’ve always wanted to work with him. I discovered his work about four years ago. He’s always been in my bookmarks bar on my computer. Luckily, he lives in Brooklyn."

No matter what you think of the clothes, it's exciting to see a designer follow in the bold and ambitious tradition of the late, great Alexander McQueen, another Englishman given to dramatic and memorable runway shows. For more photos of Pugh's whirlwind NYFW show, check out a collection here.

[via The Cut]

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