Gareth Pugh, the Sunderland-trained designer who made fashion a performance

Some of the most dramatic outfits ever seen on a pop stage began with a young designer's education on Wearside. Gareth Pugh, born on 31 August 1981, studied at City College Sunderland from 1997 to 2000, taking A-levels in photography, textiles, fine art and psychology and an art and design foundation diploma.

His talent showed early. At 14 he was already working as a costume designer for the National Youth Theatre, and his former art and design lecturer Linda Anderson later recalled: "Gareth was a wonderful student."

From Sunderland he went on to Central Saint Martins, graduating in fashion design in 2003, and interned with Rick Owens in Paris. His final collection used balloons to accentuate the joints and limbs, a technique that became one of his trademarks, and one of his designs soon appeared on the cover of Dazed and Confused.

Fashion East invited him into its Autumn 2005 group show, and he made his solo debut at London Fashion Week in 2006. British Vogue described his Spring 2007 show as "an incredible, unmissable show". His work, often described as performance art, plays with volume and form, using materials from inflated PVC to Perspex discs linked like chain mail.

The stars took notice. Kylie Minogue wore his designs on her Showgirl tours, Beyoncé wore Pugh at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards, Lady Gaga has worn several of his pieces, and the Pet Shop Boys performed in Gareth Pugh outfits at the 2012 Olympics. In 2014 one of his ensembles was chosen by stylist Katie Grand as the Fashion Museum Bath's Dress of the Year.

He received the ANDAM Fashion Award in 2008, and in 2019 he unveiled uniforms for Virgin Voyages at London Fashion Week, a two-year project that set out to redefine what a uniform could be.

Sunderland has not forgotten him. In 2018 the University of Sunderland awarded him an Honorary Doctorate of Arts, a fitting tribute to a designer whose bold journey began on Wearside.

For aspiring designers in the North East, his story is proof that a world-class fashion career can start close to home.