Volume is the big story nowadays, from Valentino to Vetements and everyone else in between. Right in that particular crowd is Alexis Mabille who, despite his many years as a young couturier, can’t seem to get as much fanfare as the aforementioned bands. This may be because his style continues to stay within the old-school and traditional principles of haute couture, and while there’s nothing wrong with that, women today want something more fresh and contemporary. His Fall 2019 collection expectedly falls short on fulfilling such needs. One can’t deny Mabille’s couture-worthy skills and his knack for creating voluminous evening-wear creations. But in this day and age, too much occasion-wear, especially for ready-to-wear, can be a bad thing. More so if the clothes are more of the same classic shapes and overused silhouettes that originated decades earlier. A white shirt with a high ruffled neckline paired with a navy blue full skirt is simply nothing new, and while beautiful, would look too old-school even for matured women. And the metallic gold pantsuit? Incredibly tacky in both shiny finish and exaggerated silhouette. Perhaps the saving grace of this line is that one can pack pieces in a suitcase and once taken out, they will still be as good as new. But the question remains: in today’s modern world, who will buy these clothes to put them in suitcases in the first place?
Photo: Courtesy of Alexis Mabille
