Monsieur Mabille is always on my radar for a simple reason
and that is he is young, talented and technically pretty great! The young man knows his way around a dress
and he is one of the rare breed of designers, young or old, who understand what
it means to work in the selectively populated sphere that we know as Haute Couture.
The new Fall 2013 collection is a modern way of utilizing
the age old techniques and abilities of the petit mains and ateliers that make
up the work force of the Haute Couture.
Yes, Raf, modern, not modern because the clothes have suffered for some ill-conceived
idea about what is fashion, but modern because the mature ways of the art and
craft of couture are translated to contemporary ideas of what 21st
century should look like without techno fabrics. Inspirations aside, the clothes speak for
themselves and the designer. The
collection does not speak to a raison d’etre based on some esoteric philosophy
or farfetched self-serving tripe!
Plainly said the clothes stand on their own, no matter what
the inspirations or theory behind them might be; the clothes honor and pay
tribute to an art form that is deservedly elite and highly undemocratic as they
should be!
Monsieur Mabille provides drama, the proof of Haute Couture heritage,
and trades off nothing for the sake of his own ego. His choices of material and embellishment are
exquisite and his design ethic is pretty fabulous. No, his modern couture doesn’t seek to appeal
to soccer moms or Beverly Hills housewives, his couture is for women who
understand and appreciate what was once referred to as high fashion. His couture is the couture of a new breed of
Couture customer who sees herself in possibly a narrow legged pant look one
evening and a ball gown the next. Red carpets
are not out of the question.
The long John Singer Sargent black velvet gown is beyond
sublime as is the concrete jersey with pearls; those being 2 of my favorites but
there are many standout looks. The palette
is superb! The point is simple... I will take ONE Alexis Mabille against 10 Raf
Simons for Dior!
P.S. I should say that I always harbored a hope that Monsieur Mabille would have been considered for the stewardship of the house of Dior
No comments:
Post a Comment