Roland Mouret has been spending a lot of time in Paris lately. And not just in the actual city, but in the Paris in his mind. Mouret's collection for Spring ’13 was an homage to Le Palace, the Parisian superclub that had its heyday in the eighties; this season, he expanded on that theme, taking the whole of his fondly recalled, eighties-era Paris as inspiration. The continuities between the collections were fairly obvious—Mouret carried on his obsessions with lipstick red, and with architectural folding techniques and color-blocking. The differences, meanwhile, were mainly witnessed in fabric and volume. Given the season, Mouret's shift to sturdier materials was to be expected; his bonded wools were particularly fine, and had a nice crispness, despite their pliancy and weight. Mouret made particularly good use of the wools in his sculptural skirts, notably the pencil skirt punctuated by an airy flounce, and a full skirt that offered proof, if any was needed, that Mouret is no prisoner of body con. The most interesting volumes in the collection, though, were to be found in Mouret's sleeves—cropped biker jackets and a standout wool and leather trench both featured sensuous draped sleeves that hinted at that eighties batwing, but only just enough. They were well judged.
Elsewhere, this collection saw Mouret emphasizing clothes for the red carpet. This seems like a no-brainer category for him, so it was no surprise to find a few knockout gowns here, in particular a long-sleeved Lurex sheath with paneled construction.
