Walk into a Roland Mouret showroom with two frazzled and ever so slightly jaded fashion-industry women, and something semi-miraculous happens: They'll gasp and announce they want the clothes. That reaction happens less often on the circuit than you might imagine, and inspiring it is Roland Mouret's great strength as a designer. The dress-heavy range he showed for Resort played to his strengths. There were cross-backed stretch numbers in viscose that will be familiar to fans of his famous Galaxy dress—which is to say, most fashion obsessives in our own galaxy. But there were looser, cotton knit versions in black and white stripe (worn with a matching tie-backed kimono top that was one of his major pieces of the season), along with a stretch poplin dress with those same kimono sleeves and a plunging V-neck in the front. (That one won wows.) Also on display was more neon color than fans have come to expect and a few unexpected twists, like the silky karate pants with exterior pockets or a pretty botanical print half washed out, as if stained by brushing against flowers. And for the tricky bit of showmanship—a new Mouret trademark—behold the Carré convertible set: a blousy poplin halter top that, with a bit of re-jiggering, became a kicky A-line skirt.
