Pyrenex & Alexis Mabille: Braving the Elements

We ♥ New York, but not its winters: they're icy, cold and just plain l-o-n-g. So although it's only October, and still relatively mild, we're already planning ahead–which is why this jacket caught our eye. It's part of a capsule collection designed by Alexis Mabille for Pyrenex, a 150-year-old French company specializing in high-quality goose down. If this coat's details are any indication, the partnership–Pyrenex x Alexis Mabille–is just about perfect. (We especially like the quilting, the removable hood, the many pockets and the two-way zipper.) Buy it online via Studio Homme and prepare to laugh at Mother Nature.

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