Pam Hogg, the fashion designer who brought the club kid look to the catwalk in the 1980s, has died.
Hogg was born in Paisley, near Glasgow, and began making his own clothes at the age of six. After first studying painting and printed textiles at the Glasgow School of Art, she moved to London to study at the Royal College of Art. It was here, as part of the club scene, that he began designing proper: initially creating notice-me outfits to guarantee entry into Steve Strange’s Blitz Club, and then taking to the catwalk in 1981. By 1989, ID magazine called him “the most consistently inventive British fashion designer (along with Vivienne Westwood)”. “She has been described as ‘100% party girl’ and has designed clothes to match,” Hogg wrote. Other girls at the party wore her clothes: Paula Yates, Debbie Harry and Siouxsie Sioux.
She became a personality in her own right with her trademark look of blonde hair, quiff, red lipstick and winged eyeliner. She appeared on the front of ID in 1989 and on the Wogan Show in 1990 – the day after her birthday party. She told the Guardian in 2018, “I went crazy. I was wearing my black PVC leggings and Terry Wogan commented that they looked uncomfortable. So my immediate reaction was, ‘Are they?’ And I sat on his lap.”
Hogg’s rock’n’roll spirit inspired her own next step – as fashion moved to more minimalist looks in the 1990s, she swapped the catwalk for the stage as lead singer in the band Dolls. Starting out for films like Blondie and The Raincoats, he continued to design appropriately extroverted costumes and he maintained his A-list circle. Reminiscing about this era with Gentlewoman magazine in 2017, Hogg described a costume she created with Ziggy Stardust Flash. “Last year I took it to Kate Moss’s house in the Cotswolds for her Bowie-themed birthday party,” she said. “When I got there, she immediately tore off the amazing dress she was wearing and put it on. It was kind of gratifying.”
Hogg came back into fashion in the 2000s, designing outfits for musicians including Rihanna, Björk and Kylie Minogue and returning to the catwalk in 2009, showcasing tight, brightly colored catsuits and more. “I knew one day I would return to fashion,” she told Vogue in 2021.
Hogg remained an avid nightlife fan, seen at fashion weeks and after-parties in London for decades with her trademark hair – now lemon yellow – paired with aviator sunglasses, teddy boy-style jackets and catsuits. He continued to show the collection until recently and designed special garments, including a semi-sheer wedding dress for Lady Mary Charteris in 2012, a design so important that it is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Hogg’s last collection was in 2024, titled Of Gods and Monsters. Using recycled fabrics and objects found in her studio, Hogg focused the collection on the issues of the environment and genocide in Gaza. “It’s an unfair and unbalanced world,” he told KE magazine. “There’s no better time than the present to get this right…Please use your voice.”
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It was in keeping with that persona that he consistently opposed the more submissive, obedient idea of the fashion designer found in mainstream culture. Speaking to the Guardian, she said, “I’m glad I won’t be called normal. Normality is nonsense!” This is something he will undoubtedly be remembered for. As her family wrote on Instagram with the news of her death: “Pamela’s creative spirit and work touched the lives of many people of all ages and she leaves a wonderful legacy that will continue to inspire, delight, and challenge us to live beyond the bounds of tradition.”
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