September 17, 2018 |
Roland Mouret speaks an elevated language of design. This morning’s show, a first look at his SS19 collection, pitched tailoring against evening wear with dead easy daywear blousons. The fabrics – always top-drawer at the house – came to life with clever intersections of striped silk and honeycomb viscose, plus his signature crepe wool. The honeycomb was one part of a series of lingerie codes laced throughout the clothes; a pair of honeycomb trousers peeped from under a beautiful navy dress. A hint of leg here, the glimpse of a shoulder blade there; the models’ bodies peeked through slits and scalpel-sharp apertures in the back of a jacket or the side of a skirt – these added a saucy yet demure intrigue to the line out.
And what a lineup: a mix of ages and non-models with supermodels of old like the incredible Kinga Rajzak fresh from completing her MA. It felt more like a dialogue between women you could relate to and not just your usual line out of standard remote beauties. This, too, was reflected in the clothes.
Said Mouret: “I design to be relevant, not only to who we all are, but the female body shape, social class and with everything else that it touches.” One quick word about the heels: a sexy mix of rope with a see-through strap will be big news next season. The languid ease of tailoring with the “pull on and go” cut and fabric in a bomber suggested the clothes were also grounded in a modern reality. Ask any of the thousands of women; the designer’s loyal clientele – and they’ll tell you: Roland understands how women live. What it hinted at in the bedroom was balanced by its chic practicality for day. Mouret signed off with a musical voiceover from the 1974 romantic boudoir romp Emmanuelle. A testament to the seductress in all women and the glass-ceiling-breaking she-boss too. Added Mouret: “Women across the world have found strength through the community of shared experiences…”
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans.
