Couture embraces worlds. The week that on one side featured Elie Saab's stolid womanliness ended with Alexis Mabille’s let loose easy-breezy collection ‘Mondaines,’ a French word for charming social butterflies with a penchant for high-flying lifestyles, and for the flirty nocturnal activities that go with it, at Christie’s headquarters, whose white-walled rooms felt like a modern rendition of a classic salon de couture. The mood was compounded by the name the designer gave the collection which was a major success on its own terms: haute couture for the Instagram generation. From the full-length black dress in gazar that opened the show to a trapeze full length coat in emerald green that tied with to the tiers of ecru lace trimmed with feathers, the clothes had the spirited dressiness that you see now in Alexis’ gals, for instance. They were saccharine, either— the black gazar sheath that underpinned a sheer dress trimmed in huge organza flowers or a baby doll in ruffled tiers of ribbon bows in a multi-coloured pastel powder pink.
And look closely and it was plain to see that Alexis had done his research on classic couture shapes, however abbreviated they might be here. The clothes were surely uplifting, not only because they've been constructed to be almost weightless, but also because the designer has been so focused on his clients' pleasure.
The pantsuit in the collection came in a deep blue solid, and exquisite shimmer blouse meant there was little that was workaday about their button-down blouses. Where these clothes will be getting a workout is on the party circuit. One of the first to hit the red carpet will be the white voluminous shirt with the black bodice floor length skirt. The volumes were diaphanous, countrified, like the cloud of point d'esprit scattered with organza lace cutouts. The designer sought a deep lightness. It was beautifully exemplified in dresses with up to five layers of lace and organza.
That caveat aside, the collection was lovely. Romantic, but with a nice sense of rawness.
Truth to tell, the show could have taken an edit, a few less of the duplicated silhouettes. But then again, Alexis has so many couture customers, maybe it just means there’ll be less of a tussle between stylists.
