Pat Boguslawski Is the Secret Weapon Behind John Galliano’s Fashion Drama

The Business of Fashion Podcast

The Business of Fashion

Fashion & Beauty, Business, Arts

4.6 • 770 Ratings

🗓️ 9 February 2024

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Pat Boguslawski is setting the fashion world in motion.

The Polish movement director at Maison Margiela is the creative mastermind behind some of fashion’s most memorable runway moments. From German model Leon Dame’s viral runway stomp in 2020 to the seductive strides of corseted characters in John Galliano’s triumphant 2024 Maison Margiela couture show, Boguslawski is redefining the role of the model and bringing back the spectacle of the show.

“I always tell the models that it's better to give more than to give less,” he told BoF editor-at-large Tim Blanks, on this week's podcast.

Key Insights

Growing up in Poland in the nineties, Boguslawski devoured fashion content on TV and in print. But as he watched everything turn into a product, he felt the storytelling essence of fashion diminish. “I started doing my job because I got bored. I just didn't like the direction we were going towards. … I promised myself that I'm gonna start bringing that energy back to fashion and create major runway moments.”

Boguslawski is a multi-faceted creative. He started training as a dancer at age 15, transitioned to modelling and also studied drama and acting for four years before shifting to movement direction. “I'm so grateful that I was so curious because now I kind of use everything that I did in the past at my job,” he says.

Directing the movement for the 2024 Maison Margiela couture show, Boguslawski encouraged the tightly-corseted models to channel their pain and discomfort into their characters. "I remember saying, 'Use that pain, use that suffering in your character. Just use whatever you're feeling right now. … Don't try to be perfect. Just let me see the suffering,'" he recalls.

For Boguslawski, a connection with the audience is a key part of the show. “I like when the audience feels intimidated. It's exciting and I love the adrenaline that comes with it.” He recalls the impact of his direction during a rehearsal before the show. “I remember we were watching the main rehearsal and they were wearing their own clothes and the corsets. The whole rehearsal got a standing ovation by everyone who was in the room.”

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, this is Imran Ahmed, founder and CEO of the Business of Fashion.
0:08.4	Welcome to the Bof podcast. It's Friday, February 9th.
0:12.8	Pat Boguslawski is the Polish movement director setting the fashion world in motion.
0:18.5	He created the German model Leon Dame's viral runway stop that closed the
0:23.7	spring summer 2020 Maison Margella show. Last month in Paris, he reconnected with longtime collaborator
0:31.0	John Galliano to design the seductive broken doll movements that captivated audiences at the Margella Couture show.
0:40.3	There have been few shows that had this kind of instant impact and lingering impact as well.
0:46.3	It felt like a return to the incredible, grand visionary days of fashion in the 1990s.
0:55.0	I always tell the models that sometimes it's better to give more than less.
1:00.0	For me, movement is so important.
1:02.0	You know what I mean? Imagine watching that collection with like a streetwalk.
1:06.0	This week on the BOF podcast, our editor at large Tim Blanks sits down with Pat to examine his role in creating some of fashion's most memorable recent runway moments.
1:18.6	Here's Pat Boguslowski with Tim Blanks on the B.OF podcast.
1:24.8	Hello, this is Tim Blanks. For the BOF podcast this week, we are talking to Pat Bogoslovsky,
1:32.4	who on January the 25th in Paris under a full moon was one of the main players in John Galliano's
1:41.8	extraordinary show for Maison Margella's artisanal collection.
1:47.2	People are still talking about the show, and in my many decades in fashion.
1:52.7	There have been few shows that had this kind of instant impact and lingering impact as well.
1:59.8	I mean, John Galliano used to be amazing at making this kind of magic.
2:04.8	And I think that's really what excited a lot of people is that it felt like a return to the
2:10.6	incredible grand visionary days of fashion in the 1990s. Now, Pat was the movement director for the production,
2:20.3	and anyone who has a good fortune to be there will, obviously, their heads will be swimming
	...

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