5 Things We’ve Learned From The AW15 Gareth Pugh Show

The controversial designer returned to London to mark his tenth anniversary. And boy was it a look!

The controversial designer returned to London to mark his tenth anniversary. And boy, was it a look!

1. Wayne Rooney is a source of beauty inspiration. Seriously. The smudgy red St George's Cross swiped across the models' faces was (honest to God) inspired by a picture of footballer Wayne Rooney. The football theme even crossed over to the catwalk where stadium chants and cheers could be heard within the show’s soundtrack. 

2. Forget brushes; your best make-up tools are your hands. MAC make-up artist Alex Box mixed-up a red mess consisting of MAC Pro Chromacake in Basic Red and MAC Pigment in Basic Red, £17, and – using just her hands – swiped the mixture straight on to skin. Thankfully, faces were coated in a thick layer of Derma Shield (a barrier cream) before the pigment was applied, to prevent staining.

3. Queen Elizabeth I is a punk icon. L’Oréal Professionnel hairstylist Anthony Turner explained the short and choppy style was inspired by the great monarch. 'A few months ago Gareth and I watched Elizabeth and we both felt so inspired by the scene where she shears off her hair. It was a very punk-looking style.' To recreate the look, Turner used wigs prepped with L’Oréal Professionnel Tecni Art Pli, £13.49, which he then chopped into haphazardly with a pair of scissors. “I’m doing it all very quickly,” he told me. “The quicker I do it, the punkier it looks.”

4. Your nails are weapons Genius manicurist Marian Newman described the nail look that she created for the show as claws that have been used in battle and to drag the warriors' way through dirt. Now that’s some reference. Newman scribed under the free edge of the nails with MAC Eye Pencil in Coffee, £14, and painted the top of nails in either MAC Nail Lacquer in Quiet Time, £11, on darker hands, or Modern Movement, £11, against paler skin. A top coat of MAC Studio Matte Overlacquer, £10, mixed with a little oil, gave the nails a waxy finish. The weapon part came in with pointed stiletto nails on the first two fingers. They’ll certainly inflict some damage.

5. A ‘ponytail’ should be taken literally. Hairstylist Anthony Turner created not one, but two styles for the show. In addition to the punk Elizabeth I-inspired crop, he also went all-out on a ponytail of epic proportions influenced by the horses on Horse Guards Parade in London. A dressage-worthy tail came from a generous application of L’Oréal Professionnel Mythic Oil, £14.05, and a blunt fringe was added to suggest the visors worn by the guards. How very British.