Pam Hogg, the acid yellow-haired, self-taught designer that defined the British countercultural movement from the early ’80s—and kept everyone rapt with her wit and spirit for decades beyond—has died.
Her family announced the news on Instagram on Wednesday. “The Hogg Family is deeply saddened to announce the passing of our beloved Pamela. We are grateful in the knowledge that her final hours were peaceful and surrounded by the loving care of cherished friends and family,” the post reads.
Hogg’s cause of death was not revealed, but the post thanked the “staff of St. Joseph’s Hospice, Hackney for the beautiful support they provided for Pamela in her final days. Pamela’s creative spirit and body of work touched the lives of many people of all ages and she leaves a magnificent legacy that will continue to inspire, bring joy and challenge us to live beyond the confines of convention. Pamela will continue to live in our hearts and minds.”
Tributes to Hogg quickly started to pour out across social media, with art gallerist Maureen Paley sharing that Hogg “will be remembered forever and missed by so many.”
“Pam Hogg was an eccentric, dominant London character,” added Zandra Rhodes, in a note to Vogue. “In the early 1980s, alongside the likes of BodyMap, Pam reinvented lycra catsuits and disco fashion. In more recent times, she lit up London with her fantastic fashion shows at Freemasons Hall. A prominent figure across the arts, fashion, and British music scenes. The fashion world won’t quite be as vivid or rebellious now Pam is no longer with us. She will be greatly missed.”
“Some years ago I was asked by a fashion TV channel to be their roving reviewer for a show, and I chose Pam Hogg’s show at the Freemasons Hall,” designer Bella Freud shared with Vogue. “Pam was a multi-talented, creative being—she was a top DJ, singer, and performer, but her great love was fashion and the amazingly beautiful creations she sent down the catwalk.”
“She sewed everything herself and her refined, exquisite workmanship was worthy of a couture house. Her most coveted pieces were the catsuits she made from Bowie-coloured fine latex,” adds Freud. “She showed me how she made them—and they were immaculate. She inserted lots of diamond shapes, which is notoriously hard to do, but these garments fitted like a second skin and made their wearers look like superstars from the planet Venus. Her golden head of chick yellow hair and her sunglasses at night will be dreadfully missed.”
Born in Paisley, near Glasgow, as a child, Hogg established her style identity as a means of survival, working hand-me-downs together into new creations. When Hogg got to England—having studied Fine Art and Printed Textiles at the Glasgow School of Art before earning a master’s degree at the Royal College of Art in London—in the late 1970s and early ’80s, she became enchanted by the audacious New Romantic movement. Bolder clothes got her through the door at the legendary Blitz club and into its petri dish of weirdo creatives, including BodyMap’s Stevie Stewart, Stephen Jones, and Leigh Bowery. Her first fashion collection, Psychedelic Jungle, launched in 1981, articulated the New Wave scene’s androgynous, acidic-acerbic aesthetic. She sold her designs at the legendary Hyper Hyper stall in Kensington Market, where she cultivated a cult following.
“Fashion designer/musician/filmmaker/mischief maker/Doctor of letters n broken hearts,” is how Hogg described herself neatly in her own Instagram bio.
“We met in 1999, when we both had studios in Shoreditch Town Hall, bonding over the fact neither of us could pay the rent when it was only £2.50 a square foot,” recalled Mandi Lennard, founder of creative consultancy Mandi’s Basement. “I was a real martyr about working 24/7, but Pam went beyond literally sewing until her fingers ran raw. When I later repped her, none of the stylists would return samples of her jazzy Lycra catsuits, which I’d later see them wearing at clubs and parties. I’ve never known her decline an invitation. Even if she already had arrangements she’d work out a way to get herself to everything. How she bonded with everyone was extraordinary and cross-generational; from the models at her shows to people she met along the way. Fashion educators, graduates, and young designers are devastated. She was a total inspiration. She never accepted ‘no’. She would never give up. London’s creative undergrowth was her lifeblood.”
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.
Minogue wore a black, metal-studded catsuit in her music video for “2 Hearts,” and Hogg designed multiple tour outfits for Siouxsie’s Dreamshow world tour in 2004. The bodysuit was, and remains, canonical—a punk-inflected piece of clubwear she produced in gold lurex, leather, and jewel-toned PVC. “Every woman who’s ever tried on one of my catsuits has said, ‘Oh my God, I can’t wear that.’ I always tell them to just try it on. When they do, they instantly feel empowered,” she told The Guardian in 2018.
Paralleling her design work was a glittering, thrillingly chaotic music career. 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.
“If you had to define a British design sensibility, it would be Pam Hogg,” said Stephen Jones. “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.”
After a few years of pause, Hogg returned to the runway in 2009 with the kaleidoscopic Galaxy Warriors collection, and staged her first Paris show with a plethora of playful PVC prairie looks in 2012. Her propulsive work ethic and intense love of her craft was also channeled into art, teaching, and couture, propelled by herself and herself alone.
“Couture pieces—my sculptures, I call them—come into my head all the time. But in fashion you need structure, you need finances…I’m doing it all on my own, the best way, the only way, I can,” she told the Financial Times in 2023.
Through the decades, Hogg was also a vocal advocate for human rights and social justice, interweaving her beliefs into her designs. In 2014, 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.
Her support for young creatives and people entering the fashion industry will also be remembered. “Pam has opened the doors for countless creatives like myself, her strength to stick to her vision and deep conviction are truly inspiring,” designer Matty Bovan told Vogue. “Pam had such a punk spirit, but was the kindest person. Whenever I saw her I was always so happy to chat with her, and she radiated such a warmth…she was just so damn cool. We will miss you greatly Pam. Your work will continue to live on and inspire generations forever, thank you for always fighting, thank you for always questioning the status quo, and thank you for being you.”
Hogg’s legacy looms large. Tributes have been shared by Garbage frontwoman and fellow Scot Shirley Manson, as well as Gwendoline Christie, Zandra Rhodes, and Tim Blanks. Pam Hogg will be remembered not only for designing unconventional clothes for uncompromising women, but for her own relentless, rollicking spirit.
