By Omi

The way to fully grasp Gareth Pugh's SS18 collection is to view his accompanying film about the collection which is a product of collaboration with Nick Knight, who directed, choreographer Wayne McGregor and artist Olivier De Sagazan among other luminaries to produce a chilling homage to the creative process behind Gareth's wildly avant-garde aesthetics. So to view this collection as a commercial vehicle would not only be incorrect but also disrespectful as it is beyond the realms of conventional fashion in many ways. 

There has always been an edge to Gareth's work and that is expected but this is truly the pinnacle of his avant-garde phase. It is almost a battle cry for a new horizon. Will Gareth remain within the realms of avant-garde fashion or will he cross over into the rarified airs of Tom Ford is the only question that needs answering as the other trivial matter of his genius is fully settled. His sense of fashion rivals a treatise from philosophers like Goodman or Wollheim. It is deeply rooted in constructs empiricists might find troubling and appealing at the same time. Ontological status aside, the collection brims with the brood of fire red and shapes of geometric inclusion and exclusion. Gareth has earned his right to produce something so off the beaten path that any notion of pretension falls away as soon as you realize the authenticity of his work and his process to reach that point of equipoise between what is possible and what is. 

To view Gareth Pugh's collection as a 'collection' does it no justice. So we should view it as a statement of intent on clarity, process and above all aesthetics, clothes in this case are just magnificent vehicles. It will hard for anyone in the industry to come even close to what Gareth has done here. It will be hard for anyone in any industry to come even close to what Gareth has done here.