Macadam Summer is the title Alexis Mabille gave his new collection. Backstage he said he was thinking about "a girl who stays in the city and doesn t care about the countryside." His trick was to create urban clothes using elements more typically associated with a vacation by the sea. Brigitte Bardot s famous Vichy print—gingham to you and me—appeared on boxy jackets, button-down shirts, and miniskirts. Another way the designer conveyed his idea was to pair a sweet white sundress edged in lace with chunky black motorcycle boots.
Mabille isn t going to win any prizes this season for high concept, and the show could ve done with a stiff edit. First to go should ve been those tiered ball skirt and T-shirt looks—city or country, they don t work for daytime. Still, this was his most charming collection in a while, more youthful in spirit than Fall and stocked with more sellable merchandise. Mabille is celebrating a new store on the Left Bank s Rue de Grenelle tomorrow night, and we re betting that it s the retail space that s the root of his newfound savvy. Top in our book was a little black cocktail dress suspended from the neck with one of his signature satin bows.
