This was the third season that French-born Roland Mouret decided to show in New York instead of his adopted London, where his designs are a mainstay of young-Brit chic. And once again, he proved that his neatly tailored suits and dresses are worthy of a larger audience.
In a season filled with throw-it-together thrift store dressing, Mouret's crisp spring collection looked all the fresher. That's not to say it was devoid of retro references. The theme was "Belles de Jour," and swingy jackets with three-quarter sleeves and wide necklines atop pencil skirts certainly summoned the proper cool of Catherine Deneuve. But the designer kept everything contemporary—and let out that suppressed sensuality—with sexy, body-conscious cuts, languid silk shirts, and sheer knits, and a color palette based around chilly grays, yellow, mint green, and turquoise. Even tricky metallic fabrics emerged elegant but subdued, swathed in organza and made up into gleaming little cocktail dresses. When it comes to crossing the Atlantic in style, Mouret gives the new Queen Mary II a run for her money.
