The word unisex and fashion doesn’t conjure up visions of frovolilty because there’s a preference to hide behind ‘androgyny’, to keep thing as asexual as possible – cue a lot of black, a lot of ambiguous cuts, minimalism and a general mood of sombriety. However, Alexis Mabille has an entirely different take on the word ‘unisex’, and even more intrigued I am that it’s fuelled by a very simple motif.
I first caught sight of Alexis Mabille via his trail of bow-ed up garments in a display at Didier Ludot in Paris last year and since then he has been rising up in profile as a numero uno bow meister and I feel a little slow on the uptake posting about Mabille only now. His own Impasse 13 unisex line and accessories line ‘Treizeor’ are both really quite indicative of his Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture education and his work experience at Nina Ricci, Ungaro and Christian Dior. In a recent Hintmag interview, he is labelled the ‘Christmas ornament of Paris’ and his obsession with elegance, whimsicality and ‘play’ are really apparent
From the AW08-9 collection…
Be prepared to be inundated with bows when viewing his collections but it seems that this singular motif applied to both men and women is his driving force and there are no bounds as to what he can do with the bow tie, making them as discreet or as extravagant as he wants and making them work for both men and women. If you’re not a bow-fan though, perhaps the collections themselves might peak your interest a bit. The cut and fit of Mabille’s clothes work for both men and women, yet this doesn’t mean that elements of feminity and masculinity are completely wiped out to provide a clean slate and ambiguity. If anything you get a clash between the two sexes running through his clothes with a mish-mash of periodic costume references that are only slight hints. He says that he wants to create beauty or not and that ugly-pretty line can sometimes be crossed but you’re constantly asking whether he has crossed it or not. My eyebrows did furrow a little and yes, a perplexed expression did cross my face but the overall feeling is that for the right people, myself included, these are clothes that are hugely expressive and I’m 100% sure they’re the sort that bring a genuine smile to your face as opposed to a cool smug expression when donning clothes that are 100% appropriate and ‘bang-on’. When things are a bit ‘off’, I’m somehow more intrigued and hence why I’ll be following Mabille’s bow trail for a while yet…
From the SS08 collection…
Of course I have also been in Dover Street Market stroking some Alexis Mabille’s bows and oggling on Couture Lab too…. hope I haven’t given any bow fetishists a seizure or anything…
It just looks like men wearing women’s clothing IMO, rather than unisex, which to me should flatter both male and female. Not that there is anything wrong with men wearing women’s clothing of course. I discovered an ex-boyfriend wearing one of my dresses once, but that’s another story!
awful… why dress up men like they were gay or girly?
I find the items do not suit men at all. very poorly designed if the goal was to make unisex clothing
I think the problem here is seeing how we THINK men should dress like and putting that into a box that is very very small. There is fluidity in menswear now that Mabille is exploring and whilst they look may look like womenswear to some, who’s to say that womenswear doesn’t flatter the man?
I just think that for some men who do have tastes that are outside what conventional menswear governs them to have, mixing and matching a few of these pieces isn’t going to make their outfit any less masculine. Rather, it’s a chance to bring ‘play’ and flexibility into their attire.
I like all these bows. They thumb their nose at typical gender dressing rules.
I’ve never seen anyone do this before, and this is a good vision of unisex. What’s interesting to me is that women are “allowed” to dress in “menswear,” but not the reverse. When I was at college, there was a guy who was widely regarded as the best-looking guy on campus. He was dating the girl who was widely regarded as the best-looking girl on campus. He had no qualms about how his masculinity was perceived, and he wore black, knee-length tube skirts. He just wore them the way he would have trousers, with regular tops, and shoes. He put them together with tights. At first, it seemed strange, then it just seemed like “why haven’t guys been doing this all along?” It was a matte look, with no fuss. Very minimalist. Everyone accepted it.
OMG…. I was just writing a post about this!!! I love all the bows from Alexis Mabille! This is crazy blogger deja-vu!
as a self-professed bow lover, i AM kind of having a seizure right now. but in a good way. if such things are possible.
excuse me, i have to go make some bows now!
love bow..but i am not sure how to dress up with it..
i think he’s way before his time. with the way menswear is progressing, there can’t be cold, block colours and sharp tailoring forever. i’m having huge bow lust, what a great post! my eyes are scanning my bow shelf right now greedily wanting to wear them all at once! i love all the different ideas of how to create and wear them with garments, but it will be interesting to see if he can make bows forever, though he’s successfully avoided any polka dot, minnie mouse reminiscence
I love bows!!!
hadn’t really heard of Alexis Mabille before…. so happy that I do now……
going to do some hardcore research on him now.
Thanks great post!!
Sophia x
Looking on his press page on his website…Ive realized i seen many of the photos before where his bows have been featured in magazines….just shows i need to pay more close attention…..
love love love, a man in a nice bow is SO dashing.
Take me to the hospital! I’m having a bow seizure.
(ahnold schwarzenegah voice) : ZA BOWZ. ZEY AH EVERYWHEH.
i`m in love with all of them. every single one. i think i might just be in bow heaven.
-jae
ps. we linked you on our blog, hope that`s okay with you!
I love the use of bows on menswear, wow! I have always had a weakness for bows, and ruffles too…
I have three bowties and can’t tie a single one. I’ve tried. I’ve read the online tutorials and watched the video on Youtube until I felt I was in a trance. No dice. I just can’t get it and it’s driving me a little crazy.
Is that a rose-bow I see?! I am smittened + sold. (:
Wow, wonderful collection. The silvery cropped jacket is amazing, I love love it.
I wish I had these, they’re beautiful!
H&M bows just can’t compare…
He is most def the bow master! I was gonna post on this a while back, but got too bogged down with fashion weeks…
back to regular blogging life now.
Oh my goodness…I love you!!! I bookmarked this post.
mmm! i like this, you know why – usually androgyny pisses me off for the fact that it basically effaces any sexuality from EITHER sex. This one, however, revels in both of them.
nice.
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