Roland Mouret has identity on his mind. It came across in several ways. To start, he recruited Mimi Xu to star in his lookbook. "I like the magic of a real woman styling the clothes," he said. More important, he's thinking about ways to put his stamp on pieces beyond his famous Galaxy dress. "I want to make it a cult piece, like the Galaxy is a cult piece," he said. The "it" in question was a short dress that draped rather than clung. He's noticed a movement toward simpler shapes; women are wearing clothes with an easier fit. A cult hit, after all, doesn't become a hit without a cult behind it. Along those looser lines, he's putting a big emphasis on coatdresses. He's whipped them up in long and sleeveless styles; the sleeveless version looked sharp as a tunic over pants.
Another thing he's picked up on: the way his girls are wearing pants for evening, jumpsuits in particular. He responded with not one, but two all-in-one options for Resort, a knockout fitted number in black and white, and a slouchier option in black lace with a sturdy zipper. Mouret likes it zipped up high near the neck, like a guy in a garage. He hardly ignored the glam gowns he's known for. They didn't turn up in the Mimi Xu lookbook, but there were racks of them in the showroom—the most memorable being the off-the-rack wedding dresses he's selling exclusively on Net-a-Porter.
