Pam Hogg, the maverick Scottish designer who dressed everyone from Kate Moss and Beyonce to Debbie Harry and Princess Eugenie, has died, her family announced on Wednesday.
In a statement shared on Instagram, her family said they were ‘deeply saddened’ to confirm the passing of ‘our beloved Pamela’, who was in her early 60s.
They added that she spent her final hours ‘peaceful and surrounded by the loving care of cherished friends and family,’ and thanked the staff of St Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney for the ‘beautiful support’ they provided in her last days.
The family continued: ‘Pamela’s creative spirit and body of work touched the lives of many people of all ages.Â
‘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. A glorious life lived and loved.’
While it was thought Pam was in her early 60s when she passed, she famously said throughout her career she would neverd disclose her real age.
Pam Hogg, the maverick Scottish designer who dressed everyone from Kate Moss and Beyonce to Debbie Harry and Princess Eugenie, has died, her family announced on Wednesday
Tributes flooded in from across the worlds of fashion, music and television within minutes of the announcement.Â
TV presenter Fearne Cotton wrote: ‘Pam. Oh Pam. What a joy it was to know you. I’ll miss you Pam.’
Shirley Manson of the band Garbage, and a close friend of Pam’s, posted an emotional tribute calling Hogg ‘our dear, most distinguished doctor. Our revered Scottish fashion queen.’
She praised her ‘brilliance,’ ‘bravery,’ and the ‘extraordinary, explosive sense of humour’ that propelled her through a career that spanned four decades.Â
‘The world has lost a bone fide original,’ she wrote. ‘A one of one. A jewel of a human being.’
Hogg, born in Paisley near Glasgow, became one of the most influential and unconventional forces in British fashion. A student of the Glasgow School of Art, she was fiercely independent and impossible to categorise.
She first rose to prominence in the 1980s, creating latex, mesh and razor-sharp silhouettes that made her a favourite of the underground club scene and the biggest names in music.
She went on to dress music icons including Debbie Harry of Blondie, Siouxsie Sioux, Grace Jones and Bjork; she designed bodysuits for Beyonce; and created some of the most memorable stage outfits worn by Rihanna, Kylie Minogue, Lady Gaga and Shakira.
Fashion insiders often described her as the spiritual successor to Vivienne Westwood – punk in spirit, visionary in execution, and utterly uncompromising.
Her catwalk shows, bursting with theatricality, became London Fashion Week legend, attracting the likes of Cara Delevingne, Nick Cave, Courtney Love and Sadie Frost to her front row.
Even royalty embraced her work: Princess Diana once wore one her dresses, while Princess Eugenie wore a custom Pam Hogg design – a sculptural black-and-white hat – to Ascot in 2013.
Despite her global fanbase, Hogg remained endearingly anti-establishment. She refused to commercialise her brand in the traditional fashion sense and continued to hand-make many pieces herself from her East London studio.
She often said she designed for ‘warriors’, and her work – bold, sharp-shouldered, often armour-like – became synonymous with powerful women in the public eye.
Her creativity extended far beyond clothes. Hogg exhibited her artwork at the Saatchi Gallery, directed music videos and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Glasgow School of Art in recognition of her contribution to British culture.
Last year she staged one of her most acclaimed shows yet – a defiant, operatic vision filled with sculptural gold pieces and celestial motifs.
Comments on the family’s statement reflected the depth of love for the designer.
Chef Andi Oliver – mother of TV presenter Miquita Oliver – wrote: ‘I am so heartbroken to hear about our darling Pam… what a WOMAN!! The one and ONLY!!!’
Food writer Gizzi Erskine added: ‘My friend. My neighbour. My protector since I was a teenager. I love you Pammy. The world fell out of my body. I love you I love you I love you.’
