Gareth Pugh 09  September 28, 2008

The crowned Prince of idiosyncratic fashion makes his Parisian debut...

Gareth Pugh's highly anticipated Paris debut was starkly monochrome, highly structured, and experimented liberally with geometric shapes and volume - all trademarks of Pugh's off-kilter design ethos. He craftily blurs the line between wearable art and avant-garde fashion through a meticulous eye for detail and a penchant for abstraction.

Though the collection featured Elizabethan collars and sci-fi reference points it remained Pugh's most wearable (past collections have utilized among other things latex masks and condoms). For this reason alone the fashion forward among us can rejoice, unless of course you wear latex masks like it ain't no thang. Even at his most commercial Pugh's sensibilities still mirror those of his oft compared British brethren John Galliano and Alexander McQueen.

Pugh has proven his ability to juxtapose the beautiful and the grotesque but detractors will always criticize his clothing's commercially viability. His collections are obtuse, impractical, and favour form over function. But this is Pugh's intention exactly. His purpose is not to shift units, it is to push the envelope and expand the realms of possibility. Not all clothing is designed with the High Street in mind.

Check out the collection below...

All pictures courtesy of Fashionista