A school bell sounded as a loud crush of teens spilled from classrooms above into seats opposite the audience, a straggler in a red knit cap triggering applause. This was the start of class and Ami's Spring men's collection.
Designer Alexandre Mattiussi said he'd been watching the American TV shows Saved by the Bell and Beverly Hills, 90210, as well as the French teen-pulp hit Premiers Baisers. High school, high-camp melodrama! You can imagine him absorbed in hours-long Netflix marathons. The Breakfast Club, that oft-cited source of teen self-discovery, also came into play. "Really, I just wanted to have fun," he enthused after the show.
Indeed, this was a joyous, energetic ode to teen spirit. Schoolboy stripes in sporty team colors set the raucous tone, punctuated by heart prints and smiley-face badges on baggy basics. Ever present was that classic campus uniform of the two-buttoned blazer over a starched cotton button-down, here untucked, and shorts. T-shirts came in bold two-tone combos and track shoes in "Sour Patch" colors, said Mattiussi, who'd clearly done his homework.
