With his first ready-to-wear runway show, Alexis Mabille fell victim to Tyro Excess syndrome. In a venue where the heat level was stifling, he showed way too much of way too much. His show notes listed influences that spanned Godard, Visconti, Van Buren, and Dufy…a full chaotic complement. Mabille's bailiwick is a fizzy girlishness—all crinolines and coy bows—and in small couture-sized doses, it has its appeal, but the full monty of a runway show took him to places he didn't need to go. Stretch leather leggings? A doilylike top? By that point, the easy charm of a silk parka or the dress stitched from two square cotton scarves earlier in the show had been long obscured.
