“Fall 2023 was the season of the gesture,” wrote my colleague José Criales-Unzueta in his analysis of the choreography of codified movements. Bach Mai was also interested in this subject. He built these human expressions into clothes in order to show that they can hold our bodies, carry emotion, and, as he put it, “preserve gesture”: the hand in the pocket, the lifting of the skirt, the grasping of the heart.
The heart—that’s straight where this collection came from. Mai recently lost his beloved father, and this runway show, his first, combined aspects of memorial and celebration. A lotus-flower print, a symbol of rebirth, was used throughout. The live classical Spanish guitar was a reference to Mr. Mai Sr.’s preferred music. The workwear elements that appeared throughout—including webbing, buckles, and cargo pockets—referenced his wardrobe. They appeared both on the evening looks the designer is known for and more casual ones, like fitted sheaths that fell above the knee. A midriff shirt paired with a curve-cut skirt with circular snaps sizzled. A different mood was evoked by Mai’s interpretation of the Vietnamese ao dai, “the only national dress for women with pants,” he noted.
Steeped in fashion history, Mai incorporated a Cristóbal Balenciaga reference in the trailing back of a floor-length ivory tunic, open at the side and secured with a belt underneath, worn over pants. This look, one of clean-line purity, was followed by another with a beautiful floral halter top. There was something angelic about it, and you’d never guess its origin was the wilted flowers of funeral bouquets.
There’s a connection to be made between the way the designer cradles his father in his heart and the way he manipulated fabric by hand to gather and capture the life of cloth on a body. The collection progressed from dark to light, and the first and last looks had the airiness of a parachute, a lifesaving device, which here promised a soft landing. Clearly Mr. Mai was the wind beneath his son’s wings.
