Bach Mai is experiencing a lot of firsts. Having acquired a skeleton staff, he’s no longer working alone, and within a few weeks his clothes will start hitting the sales floor. That’s pretty heady stuff, but the designer’s not getting ahead of himself artistically; his resort collection was created to complement his fall line, with which it will sit. Consistency is important at this stage, as the designer is refining his vision, and familiarizing people with the brand values.
Mai described this collection as being a “juxtaposition between expressive modernism and romanticism,” a description that suits his body of work so far. The brand is backed by the French textile company Hurel, and so far, shape and fabrics are the designer’s prime preoccupations, along with the bias cutting he learned while working with John Galliano in Paris. For resort it’s applied to dresses with raised Regency waistlines. These form fitting numbers have toggles threaded on fine “threads” at the back, which beautifully define the spine and allow the wearer to adjust the dress to best suit her figure.
New for the season was sonorous embroidery of ombre plastic that shimmers and moves. The Lady of the Lake, a mythic enchantress, inspired this handicraft; in contrast, tony tennis clubs were one of the references behind the short shorts and the shaped kimono-bomber jackets that Mai offered to bring a bit of drama to less dressy outings, like a trip to the grocery store or after-work drinks. (He wore one to the collection walk-through.)
Those looking for the sculptured volant dress, which has already become the designer’s signature look, will not be disappointed. It comes in a babydoll silhouette this season as well as longer versions with asymmetric hems, à la the designer’s idol, Cristóbal Balenciaga. These are the best examples of the “couture spirit” that Mai wants his designs to have. The designer fell in love with the metier at a young age, but his dream, which he is starting to realize, was to bring Parisian savoir faire back to America. He’d also like to work closely with his clients and is looking forward to his first trunk show. That personal approach, something that Bill Blass and Oscar de la Renta excelled at, seems to be a good fit for this occasion-driven brand.
