How many times have we heard Stevie Nicks or Kate Bush’s names uttered backstage? When a designer invokes them it usually means we’re in for something retro. Roland Mouret mentioned both performers before his show today, alluding to their raw, witchy beauty, and their Victoriana-tinged rock ’n’ roll aesthetics. It was a new thing for him, he’s not big on inspirations or mood boards. But this didn’t feel like a romp through a vintage shop, nor like he’d gone and designed tour costumes for 2016’s next big thing. Mouret is a dressmaker par excellence; what he did was to filter Nicks and Bush’s late ’70s–early ’80s aesthetic through his body-conscious, decorative lens.
The silhouette was elongated to just above the ankle, sylphlike with a soft A-line, although there were some shorter, above-the-knee looks, too. Dresses were engineered with geometric panels of velvet (Fall’s most essential material) and graphic black-and-white lace. The palette was precise: black, white, bordeaux, bright purple, and electric green. Many of the looks were bare-armed, but styled with removable puff-shouldered sleeves that could prove a versatile idea at retail.
Mouret doesn’t really do casual, but he made a concession to the sportif vibes prevalent at the moment, showing a couple of zip-front track jackets and long, flowing skirts with his lace-front stiletto sandals. They wound up being among the show’s most compelling looks. Velvet is trending, as is the narrow-waisted, long skirt look associated with Monsieur Saint-Laurent that Mouret landed on here. But his velvet panels, lace insets, and piping details left many of the pieces in this collection feeling overdecorated. A purple sheath piped in black, with a stretch lace inset that only revealed itself when the model turned her back, was bewitching in its relative simplicity.
