French designer Alexis Mabille’s goal was to rally his clan of bad boys, bringing elements that appealed to both the refined and the audacious characters in it. Some ideas hover in the fashion ether in a given season, getting twisted and tweaked by designers across the board. Safe to say, Alexis Mabille's campy Scottish theme isn't one of them. In seasons past, Mr Mabille has shown menswear so replete with feminine totems and icons that it often felt scarcely like menswear at all. The rough-and-tumble Scotch brought out a slightly more masculine side of him; maybe that's what he meant when he opened the show with the assertive "Choose Life" monologue from 'Trainspotting' on the soundtrack. Even so, cuteness persisted. The dominant pant was a skinny jean that laced all the way up the leg like a corset. There were plenty of zippers and interchangeable collars. Rounded Oxford collars, tied either with a bow or knotted like a bandana gave the silhouettes a touch of good old British style. The color palette was full of warm cabin-cozy Tartan colors like gradations of red and blue, pine and chestnut, saffron and its best mates, khaki and camel, gold and silver brocade. The colors are as rich in name as they are in pigment. Forget about gilted brocade pants and tulle tees sequined with Mabille-ified whiskey logos. Fabric play led the designer down some potentially interesting avenues, like a loden overcoat that drew its peculiar sheen from a mixture of velvet and neoprene. The details in each piece, like the buttons on the sleeves, the multicolored Veja sneakers, the belts, buckled leather satchels, scarves, layers of colors and textures, the wraparound cardigan and of course the lace-up details on the pants, kept the collection exciting. As head of the clan, Alexis Mabille initiated his tribe to a distinctive and powerful yet cool style.
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