Now that Michelle Obama has come out so solidly in support of young American designers, it s only natural to wonder whether Paris has an on-the-rise talent of its own who could be taken up by France s First Lady. One such contender might be Alexis Mabille, a 30-year-old Lyon-born designer with a pedigree from YSL and Dior, who is now in his third season. He certainly made an ambitious leap forward today, sending out a huge collection of over 50 looks. Though some of that was menswear, and much of it could be discounted as unfocused juvenilia, he proved he s capable of moving beyond his status as the little guy who does cute things with bow-laden bags and shirts.
Despite a page-long, rambling press release, there wasn t much of an evident theme to hold the collection together, but there were plenty of head-turning moments. He picked up the Paris vibe for glitter with a glowing, deep-green panne velvet dress with fishnet sleeves, and a sparkly red jacket thrown over gold lamé knee-length shorts. He also proved himself as a tailor with skinny bird s-eye tweed pantsuits and chic Parisian pairings of a peacoat over a long dress, and a topcoat shrugged over wide-leg pants. The results were grown-up, but never stuffy. The image to take away was a beautiful look on Chanel Iman—a brown velvet circle skirt with layered blouses in mink-collared café-au-lait charmeuse and cream silk, one of Mabille s signature ties at the neck. It would look great at lunch at the Élysée Palace, if anyone s watching.
