Alexis Mabille acknowledged that his menswear is "un peu Ă©goiste," which is to say, he often designs what he wants to wear. This isn't a shocking confession; more often than not, it establishes a built-in point of view. What it does reveal when you see the clothes, however, is that Mabille sees himself as something of a global soul who appreciates dandy details and sportswear ease in equal measure. Those two tastes dovetailed nicely in a jacket constructed from pliant raffia with a hood extending from the collar. What wardrobe is complete without a few incognito essentials? But there was nothing subtle about the hooded sweatshirt, its backside covered in the thermo-printed mantra, "Tonight I wear Mabille so let's set the world on fire I can burn brighter than the sun." Cue the David Guetta electric dance music and Ibiza backdrop.
Mabille differentiated his denim by adding piping along the back yoke and pockets (and a stitched AM as bonus brand presence). And he made his shirts stand out by adding two built-in bowtie accents—each was a clever (albeit particular) way of embellishing the neck without actually adding neckwear. Girls might gravitate toward certain pieces —the scooped-neck Liberty-print tanks and the pajama-style shirts—especially since there's nothing dressed-down about Mabille's womenswear. The designer said he deliberately created pieces that register as gender-neutral (women may even be tempted to accessorize with a floral ornamented bowtie or the turquoise smiling skull necklace). This might also be how Mabille reconciles his self-interest.
