Roland Mouret knows his customer well. Leafing through the rails of clothing in the bright, high-ceilinged studio space he shares with Self-Portrait’s Han Chong, it was hard not to be struck by their tactile, near-seductive desirability—especially for the kind of sleek urban woman (with a handful of events to attend every week) that is his client. “I think we’re starting to own our place in that market from eveningwear to ceremony [dressing],” Mouret said. “It’s not the kind of collection that will change dramatically every season, but it’s always evolving.”
Of course, Mouret was being a little modest: he’s owned a hefty slice of that “place in the market” since he first launched his eponymous label back in 1998 and was rocketed to fame by the Galaxy dress shortly thereafter. But over the past two-and-a-bit years since the brand was acquired by Chong and had a soft reboot, Mouret has hit a new stride, effortlessly balancing his more directional instincts with a carefully attuned commercial nous. Just take the first look in his spring 2025 collection: a supremely elegant black column dress with a twist—quite literally—in the form of a trail of black-and-white double-sided crepe that curled with a sculptural flair across the shoulder and was left to trail behind for a striking vertical echo of the dress itself. Fashion-forward, but not fussy.
Where Mouret has found himself dabbling in the ’80s over the past few seasons, this time he went for some subtle decade hopping. Sure, there was a distinctly decadent ’80s flavor to the mini dresses with asymmetric, angular, and diamanté-studded panels placed over the chest, or the razor-sharp femme fatale glamour of a blazing red power-shouldered gown with an artful fold of fabric across the bust. But there was a softer, more romantic side on offer, too, through the palette of icy-pale blues, pinks, and yellows, or the ravishing gowns made from bias-cut silk chiffon, with translucent capes sprouting from a kind of loose, crystal-covered choker at the neck, then billowing behind the wearer for an additional touch of drama. (Also see the origami-like, spiraling folds of fabric used to create flowers that sprouted from the bust lines like corsages.)
Some of the most beautiful pieces were dresses made from transparent copper brown sequins overlaid on mesh to create a shimmering, translucent, almost mirage-like effect on the body. Mouret’s eyes seemed to twinkle as he looked at them, but he was quick to say these particular designs weren’t just flights of fancy: they were a continuation of a series of similar looks from his pre-fall collection that his clients and buyers had responded to with particular enthusiasm. What is it that makes Mouret’s clothes truly tick? Sure, he may know his customer well—but his endless curiosity as a designer means he always wants to get to know them better, season upon season. That’s why they keep coming back.
