What a difference a change of scene can make. Today, Mark Thomas’s excellent sophomore show was also an outing, as we relocated to the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers from the brand’s headquarters on the Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées, the same building where founder Marie-Louise Carven once lived and made her studio.
Sunlight streamed into what was once the conservatory’s vast textile room—the walls boasting an enviable patina—as the models walked straight up and down a runway rather than the smaller configuration of rooms that we had become used to at the label’s base. “Home was great…” Thomas had said in a preview. “And then you leave home, you grow up.”
While it would be convenient to say the collection was also more grown-up, that would be a disservice to Thomas, who is a highly skilled designer with a solid instinct for how a certain kind of style-conscious woman might add to her already-impressive wardrobe. Yet there was certainly something more assured to this line-up, which toggled between generous tailoring and looser looks; monochromatic layers and gauzy organza slips incrusted with lace; tiers of tufted fil coupé and smooth surfaces of satin and leather.
Similarly, focussing only on the rounded silhouettes with constructions that appear part-couture would be to overlook Thomas’s whimsical and decorative flourishes. Fringed gloves swished from cuffs; the paper-thin panels of “mille-feuille” brought lateral dimension and movement to the final skirt and dress. There were furry lace-ups and loafer-mules in pastel satin, and hand-beaded necklaces that resembled bunches of buds, only in glass. “I think she’s okay to be noticed,” quipped the designer.
From the total looks in tones of wine and chocolate to the mixing of black and ecru, his description of “dressed up with purpose—but also dressed up to have fun,” rang true. As people continue to obsess over CBK’s style in Love Story, you might even see a contemporary match in the tank dresses and more utilitarian-inspired coats shown here.
There’s a lot of fringe happening in fashion this season, and Carven can now be added to the trend. Yet Thomas is not superfluously dramatic; his range of shaggy felt more believable. His blanket coats, as one example, take us from inside the home to the outside world, where one could easily envision them beyond this centuries-old hall.
