Roland Mouret just bought back the rights to his name and is about to open a boutique on Carlos Place in London. It's probably not a surprise, then, that he was talking about reinvention backstage among a crowd of well-wishers that included Trudie Styler and Sting. But this collection wasn't so much a new beginning as a confident, extended riff on Mouret's signatures, some of which he's neglected a bit of late.
Recently, he hasn't seemed all that interested in the body-hugging silhouette of the Galaxy dress that made him famous, but that changed today. Hence, perhaps, the smile plastered across Styler's face. Mouret's new versions came with an asymmetrical one-shoulder neckline or with strappy backs or even with sporty pockets at the hips, which gave the silhouette legs for day.
This wasn't a one-message show, though. Along with those ultra-fitted dresses, there were lots of others with a relaxed yet sensuous square-cut drape. Mouret played soft against structured, pairing a parachute silk top with wide-legged denim trousers or layering a denim kimono jacket over a color-blocked silk slipdress. The show had an undercurrent of Japanese motifs that extended to a mossy green print—definitely a novelty chez Mouret. And while it's going too far to say that the color palette popped, it was a whole lot more inventive than his Fall grays. Clearly, the designer's new career developments have left him energized.
