Both the fashion and music industries in London are paying tribute to Scottish designer Pam Hogg who just died. She was in her 60’s.  She was a firebrand and an eccentric designer who was so successfully moved between industries since she arrived in London m the early 1980s.  It was the time of the New Romantic movement and her statement fashion pieces made her a perfect fit in the legendary Blitz Club, which at that time was home oi a very eclectic group of headline-grabbing individuals like Stephen Jones, Leigh Bowery  Stevie Smith and Boy George.

In 1981 after her first fashion collection, Psychedelic Jungle, which articulated the New Wave scene’s androgynous, acidic-acerbic aesthetic, there was no turning back.  At that stage, rather than risk selling through retailers, she took a stall at the legendary Hyper Hyper in Kensington Market, where she cultivated a cult following. Hogg’s earliest work quickly affirmed her as a striking, provocative presence, filled with outré catsuits, lots of latex, sculptural silhouettes, and a rainbow selection of fuzzy coats that found fans from Debbie Harry to Siouxsie Sioux, and later, Kylie Minogue, Kate Moss, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Lily Allen, and Björk.

Her timing was perfect as London was getting a lot of international interest for the new crop of highly talented individuals that  just didn’t just create fashion but made it an essential part of a whole idiosynctatic nouveu British lifestyle. Hogg’s love of music acclerated a second career. and her first band, Rubbish, supported early-career Pogues in the ’70s, but it was her band Doll that got Hogg on the main stages, supporting Debbie Harry and opening for The Raincoats in the ’90s. She also produced her own fashion film, Accelerator, which starred Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie and Anita Pallenberg.

She was also very well known as a vocal advocate for human rights and social justice, interweaving her beliefs into her designs. In 2014, she came on our radare when she collaborated with Amnesty International on a collection shown at London Fashion Week that honored Russian punk band Pussy Riot and LGBTQ+ rights in Russia. Her spring 2024 collection, Apocalypse, was dedicated to the late musician and activist Sinéad O’Connor, while her fall 2023 show, They Burn Witches Don’t They, paid tribute to friend, champion, and fellow activist Vivienne Westwood. The 2024 collection Of Gods And Monsters spoke to the Palestinian genocide and conflict in Congo.

The international Fashion Press have been glowing with tributes to Hogg. Stephen Jones told The Guardian, “If you had to define a British design sensibility, it would be Pam Hogg. Against all the odds she remained true to herself and her individuality since her very first collection.  It was never fashion for her; it was her way of life and her raison d’être! And I have to add, because nobody else will, that she was a great dancer—especially in spandex.”

Caroline Coates of the Helen Storey Foundation told Queerguru “ Pam was a unique colourful spirit,  full of mischief and an often under-appreciated talent. Never a conformist, always delightful friendly,  funny – full of creative energy and kindness. Not only a Blitz girl, but a DJ musician and a truly original and provocative designer. She was loved, and the creative world is a darker place for her loss.’