Part of the reimagining of Roland Mouret’s label, bringing it into what still gets referred to as (rather quaintly, imo) contemporary, has allowed him to rethink exactly with whom he is speaking. Not just his stalwart fans (they’re legion), those women d’un certain age who know they can always rely on him for something knockout in the best possible way—unapologetically grown-up, and as much body-positive as it is body-conscious. Mouret is now also looking to engage with those women who might be about as old as his label, which is to say, around 25 or so. In that Venn diagram of Mouret wearers established and new, there’s a definite crossover, drawn to the way he can whip up looks that serve empowerment and elegance in equal measure. With this resort collection, he hits both with conviction, but there’s also a new youthful edge evident too.
“There has to be a balance when you bring that youthfulness,” Mouret said. “We can do things which are younger, but still, at the same time, it’s not about us showing a lot of flesh,” he adds with that typical tell-it-like-it-is way of his, “that would be stupid.” There’s a counterintuitive smartness at work. Leave the near naked—or sometimes the naked naked—to others. He gets there’s a newly generational instinct to flaunt, but as a designer, especially one whose work is founded on respectful dialog, you have to tread a fine line. “Women have a strong sense of ownership over their bodies and how they want to show it,” he said. “It’s not up to designers. They’re in control.”
Mouret is still thinking about how the verve and confidence of his cutting and draping can resonate, even as he keeps it all a little more simple and stripped down, with the pared back 1960s and classic Hollywood siren dressing on his mental mood board. For instance, a curvaceously minimalistic primrose yellow dress gets an off-kilter neckline that slopes around the shoulders. A black cocktail number with a Jessica Rabbit-esque décolleté comes slashed at the thighs, yet is paired with sturdy ankle boots. And sequins in deep red or jet black, a newish medium for him, get worked up into all sorts of liquid evening looks, some with matching floral corsages at the throat. (Ironically, something else that loved a corsage—Sex and the City—is also turning 25.)
So, evening glam galore, then. Yet, Mouret is someone who can design for daylight hours too. Such as: a fluid, slim, long-sleeved dress in that same primrose yellow that could work for work (if you’re someone who’s going back to the office), and the perfect lean black coat to throw over it, and just about everything else here. Stripped down, for sure, but still loaded big with impact.
