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The film that Gareth Pugh had debuted at an installation during New York Fashion Week was supposed to be a precursor and whilst it got the mood and the colour palette spot on, you would not have been able to guess the sort of shape shifting that Pugh would show in  Paris. At the Palais de Tokyo yesterday, Matthew Stone's reworking of the theme from Requiem for a Dream languidly introduced a collection that moved away from the previous monochrome precision and prickly textures. Everything played around with shades of grey and combined with the make-up that shaded the models' faces andthe hair that was tinted a dusky mauve, it was as if a layer of dust had settled on everything.  The soft textures seen in the womenswear balanced different fabrications in each ensemble with shapes that were flowing as opposed to restrictive and where previously Pugh's models looked like they were stomping out ready for a war of sorts, here they floated and came out with a sort of dark serenity. The menswear collection toyed with the same shape vocabulary as previous collections with perhaps a bigger emphasis on structure. For lovers of Pugh's dramatics, spike-headed headpieces that fanned out like a Sun King/Queen headpiece offset the soft fabrics.
The precursory film in New York was dramatically concluded with a collection that shows Pugh's softer side.