Roland Mouret is one of those designers that I was converted to not by drooling at his catwalk pictures or seeing the countless celebs wearing THAT Galaxy dress but by trying him on for size myself and realising: ‘By jove, the man can perform pattern cutting/shaping miracles!’. So of course I had to check out his return to the fashion world under the label RM, funded by Simon Fuller (I know I keep saying it but it’s quite possibly the most random partnership ever…).
Net-a-Porter of course wanting to get first dibs on his sales have provided us with lots of nifty RM-related things like video look-by-look commentary, video clips from the show, behind the scenes and interviews with the man himself, and some detailed look at the clothes. Still, after all of this ‘collection justification’ material helpfully provided by NAP, and as much as I want to be convinced…. I’m sadly not.
Yet in turn, I can’ justify in a rational way why it is that RM’s debut AW07-8 ‘Satellite Collection’ hasn’t knocked my socks off. The palette is great – grey, black and white – lovely stuff if not a bit clean and fresh looking in comparisom to the sumptuous colours going on in other AW07 collections.
The nips, tucks, pleats and all things that make Mouret’s clothes very Mouret are all there albeit in a less womanly variation, which should please me as I didn’t want to see a redux of all that 40’s styling that Mouret made such a success of. This time, it’s looser, more relaxed but there it is…. a little too relaxed perhaps. There’s a lot of needless flapping going on here…. like bits hanging off for no reason – angular flaps, oversized pockets. It’s like a sculpting project that went the wrong way and I can imagine that if I saw the sketches, I’d be swooning and oohing but the final results somehow doesn’t work for me.
Oh well, perhaps it’s just me standing alone in a corner trying to desperately wave the Mouret flag but finding that I can’t. Furthermore, if you are swayed by this collection, when you come to pre-order it, I believe the prices are rather astronomical (aptly described for dresses named after natural moons?) for what the collection is and even more expensive than his past hits. I don’t believe I ever saw a Mouret dress topping the ¬£1000 mark but there it is. Fortunately for me, the one thing I’m coveting from the collection are the shoes, designed by Christian Louboutin exclusively for Roland Mouret, which are also at the lower end of the price range (not that I’m in any position to be flinging about ¬£500 on a pair of shoes but on sale… who knows?). For Mouret and Net-A-Porter though, the real test is not in the few lone-random critics like myself but in the consumer and whether this collection will have the same sell-out effect, which also depends on the obligatory red-carpet appearances. Let’s see who’ll take the plunge and don a ‘Moon’ dress (the one singled out as the potential IT dress…Victoria Beckham is said to be the first who will publically wear Mouret) and let’s see whether the high street copies will roll out…
That “moon” dress doesn’t look in the slightest bit special to me…Hmm.
I liked it, i just didnt think it was worth what he wanted for it.
Grossly overpriced and gagging on its own ego. He is very attractive, I’ll grant him that, but those are not earth-shattering clothes.
It’s a shame really. This looks as a collection just quite messy. Hard to discern a look or theme. It looks like bits and bobs he’s collected from over the years and put all together. And I think they are banking too much on the Mouret name. Mouret wasn’t THAT big when he went out. I mean yes he was well known in the fashion world, but really he’s not even as well known as someone like say Stella McCartney. The collection the galaxy dress was from was amazing for a s/s collection. It’s too bad that all those celebs wore the galaxy dress since there were a lot of amazing things in that collection that got overlooked. Thanks for the pictures susie
Hmmm, this is hard to swallow, the shoes, absolutely to die for, but the collection is….I have to sit with this one, because I was left disappointed at the results. maybe this is a deliberate departure from what we expect from him. i think it is brave of him to try something else, but i think it has been to extreme for us fans to handle. I think a little introduction of his new stuff mixed in with what we love him for wouldn’t put us in such a shocked state.
Honey, the Galaxy and the Titanium (the green dress Rachel Weisz wore, that is very often confused for the original Galaxy) were both about 975 pounds and they could’ve sold lots more had they been able to produce them. My sister wore one at her wedding and has never looked more beautiful.
I think the new collection is actually pretty amazing. The photos don’t do them justice….they come alive in the videos, and are really rather staggeringly beautiful when the models move.
Roland could easily have sat back and produced a collection that reprised his greatest hits…clever him for doing something that Buttonsandstars and Helen are not immediately swooning over…one kind of suspects they may however rush to purchase the inevitable Topshop homage….ouch sorry that wasn’t meant to be bitchy…meow!
So I was right…those dresses DIDN’T top to the ¬£1000….? albeit missed it by 25 quid but the point is I’d pay over ¬£1000 for those dresses as opposed to the ones from the RM collection…
No need to be bitchy towards other commentors who are entitled to their own opinion. It may be that these pieces are beautiful in reality and move very well…. but again IMO (emphasis on that….), I still think they look a little ‘not quite there’ and I agree that Mouret shouldn’t have gone for a Greatest Hits collection but somehow FOR ME, this didn’t hit the mark either…
oh, i LOVE the shoes.
I agree it’s “not quite there”, especially as some pieces are very plain for their price and not particularly inspiring (e.g. Mars top and Pandora shorts). Perhaps the zips are well used, but not in an especially new way, and I wonder whether the Moon dress has the special “tummy control” panel the Galaxy has, as I’m sure the measurements are bordering on impossible for the normal girl..?
Having said that, I think the origami folds and pleats are genius (a stripped down Dior Couture Spring 07?). The Naiad dress is my favourite – it moves beautifully.
And I love the colours, especially when teamed with the red Louboutin soles. Ah, the shoes…
I am madly in love with those shoes. It’s taking all my willpower to not order them.
I was never really a great admirer of Mouret..
This confirms that status.. I think it is a bit samey. I see echoes of his past collections and a tiny bit of balenciaga too.
I absolutely ADORE Roland Mouret’s Satellite collection – from the palette to the fabrics to every single design detail. I pre-ordered Rhea dress in black which opened his catwalk show, and was completely blown away when receiving it, observing all the clever details and craftsmanship. He drew inspirations from 1920s tennis dresses, 17th century court garments (the angular flaps & oversized pockets are to create pannier effects without any discomfort to the wearer), and less noticeable to most – the ‘tuxedo’ collars are actually reminiscent of English barrister gowns. I wore it to a special Christmas event and everyone couldn’t believe it. Extremely witty. Have just received Naiad in ivory today and it is TO-DIE-FOR. His creations really need to be worn and the movements to be seen. In a way they remind me of Madeleine Vionnet. Am going to wear Naiad to see Peony Pavilion at Sadler’s Wells tomorrow evening.
Prior to his RM debut, I wore Mouret’s crimson/pink Germanium gown at my wedding reception (in addition to my ceremony dress which is antique). It is the most amazing (modern) piece!! The way it drapes and moves with you, the little loose bustle at the back, the asymmetrical sleeves and the buttoning all the way down the side etc. The list is endless. All my friends were swooning over it and many asked if it was custom made for me – surprise! I got it at 50% off sale price! One of the things I love the most about Roland Mouret’s designs is that he really is a ‘drapist’ who works with the human body, every single piece I’ve tried on and own is extremely comfortable.
I LOVE Roland Mouret!