Pam Hogg

Pam Hogg is a fashion designer from the United Kingdom.

Early career
Hogg had a meteoric rise to fame after her studies of Fine Art and Printed Textiles at the Glasgow School of Art, where she won the Newbury Medal of Distinction, the Frank Warner Memorial Medal, the Leverhulme Scholarship and the Royal Society of Arts Bursary, which subsequently took her on to further study at the Royal College of Art in London, where she gained her Masters of Art degree.

She joined her first band ‘Rubbish’ at the end of the seventies regularly supporting The Pogues in their infancy.

1980s
Pam Hogg launched her first fashion collection in 1981. She was, along with Bodymap, one of the new wave of designers who emerged at the beginning of the 1980s in London. Hogg first sold out of Hyper Hyper in London's Kensington and later from her own shop in Newburgh Street always refusing to ‘sell out’ to the mainstream fashion industry.

Mid eighties, still fueled by the excitement and freedom of Punk and The Blitz, Hogg infiltrated the elitist ranks of the conventional fashion world with her self-taught wild brand of outrageous creations, establishing a highly respected fashion career and continued success with her internationally renowned shop in the heart of London’s Soho.

Her collections were always inventively named, from 1981’s Psychedelic Jungle to 1989’s Warrior Queen and including ‘Best Dressed Chicken in Town’, ‘And God Created Woman’ and ‘Wild Wild Women of the West’.

Pam opened her first outlet in 1984 at Hyper Hyper in Kensington High Street and is the name behind the style of Ian Astbury of The Cult, Paula Yates, Marie Helvin, Siouxsie Sioux and the iconic Debbie Harry of Blondie.

Her one man show at the Kelvingrove Art Galleries in 1990 was the first fashion design exhibition to be held in the grand Glasgow Museum and claimed one of the highest public attendances.

1990s
In 1991, Terry Wogan introduced her onto his TV show as “one of the most original, inventive, creative designers in Britain” adding, “She has reached what is called Cult Status”. In the same year she made a brief appearance on stage in Nashville with industrial noise band Pigface reaffirmed her love of performing, resulting in her shifting focus back to writing music full time. Unexpectedly landing the support act with Debbie Harry in 1993, she formed new band ‘Doll’ in five days, and in 1994 with the band firmly established, opened for the post punk band The Raincoats.

2000s
Between 1999 and 2001 her continued love of designing and making clothes resulted in two catwalk collections and her first Fashion Film “Accelerator” starring Anita Pallenberg, Bobby Gillespie and Patti Palladin. She also clinched cameo roles from Daryl Hannah, David Soul and Primal Scream towards the end of 2002, having discovered a latent talent for script writing and directing.

In 2003 Hogg was approached by Jarvis Cocker collaborator Jason Buckle to form a “Cramps like band” which would become known as Hoggdoll. Using his swamp like Rockabilly sounds as a backdrop she wrote and recorded 6 tracks in as many weeks and built up an underground following across the globe. Her unexpectedly tender song 'Honeyland' touched a nerve and eventually surfaced on The Berlin Based Art Riot band Chicks on Speed 'Girlmonster' compilation in 2006.

Inspired by Siouxsie Sioux’s Japanese concept, she designed the costumes for the Ice Queen of Punk’s 2004 world tour ‘Dreamshow’.

In 2006, the Spanish curator Xavier Arakistain invited Pam to exhibit in the traveling Art exhibition “Switch on the Power” alongside Yoko Ono, Leigh Bowery, Warhol and Kraftwerk.

This allowed her to return to the video medium, producing and directing two promos incorporating her clothes and music. She cast a host of friends including Siouxsie Sioux and Alison Mosshart from the Kills to appear alongside her in the new twin collections inspired by shiny metals and reflective surfaces. The resulting videos 'Opal Eyes' and 'Electricman' were viewed by a whole new unexpected audience via YouTube and Myspace as well as the exhibition itself. This direct access and exposure regenerated a new found interest in Pam's work and pushed the cat suit back into the spotlight resulting in media attention from magazines including Vogue and ID.

In 2007, Kylie Minogue appeared in Pam's black mesh metal studded cat suit in her 2 Hearts Video, and Siouxsie Sioux wore numerous distinctive Pam Hogg signature cat suits throughout her 2008 tour and appearance on Later with Jools Holland. During the show, Pam was interviewed and announced her imminent return to fashion.

In October 2008, the prestigious Fashion store Browns of South Molton St London, was the first to stock the new Hogg-Couture collection. She was further asked to dress their windows for Halloween, an honour rarely given to one designer.

Pam Hogg's collections have since been worn by an entire new generation of celebrities including Lady Gaga, Jessie J, Kelly Rowland, Tyra Banks, Alice Dellal, Jamie Winstone, Rihanna, Daisy Lowe, Lily Allen, Peaches Geldof, Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer. In February 2011 Kate Moss, the day after London Fashion Week wore a Hogg black leather dress to the NME Awards on the same night as Alison Mosshart, wearing a Pam Hogg fur coat, picked up the prize for Hottest Woman.