The Four Hundred (Plus) Bows of Alexis Mabille

Young French designer Alexis Mabille has strong credentials (he worked at Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Dior), but this 30-year-old is still an unpredictable talent. His combined men's and women's collections, presented as couture, rather than ready-to-wear, are full of ideas: sometimes, too many of them. But for every awkward moment, there's a corresponding vision of grace, as sleek young men stride down the runway like flashes of color and girls float by on clouds of chiffon.

Mabille also has a thing for bows: he tacks them to jackets, wraps them around necks and cleverly repurposes their shape for soft evening bags. These jewel-toned velvet butterflies are bows of a sort, but not ties: they're brooches, meant to be pinned on a jacket's lapel or perhaps the shoulder of a dress. And while there are probably few men these days with enough panache to wear any accessory made of velvet (let alone a butterfly brooch), we hope to see at least one. It could be just the thing to help a beautifully-tailored suit take flight.

www.alexismabille.com
www.studiohomme.com