Scantily clad men aren't the usual entertainment at the Oratoire in Paris and a few eyebrows were raised about staging a fashion show in a church, but Alexis Mabille isn't one to stand on ceremony. Until now, the designer has spent most of his time decorating the classics -embellishing dressing-gown jackets in kimono-pattern silks, for example, and generally going to town with his signature bow ties- but he took a desert-survival hike for his Spring Mirage collection. Somewhere in the sand he found a new slouch, easy volumes, and a certain laid-back sporty chic. Jean jackets in sandy tones with sun-ray yokes looked like Midnight Cowboy on a weekend in Palm Springs, and the combi-short in tan boiled-cotton jersey with mechanic's overall zips had true grit. Sleeves, back yokes, and waists unzipped for a wear-it-your-way rusty linen tunic, gold-dusted heavy silk parka, biker tux, and poncho blouson in quilted jersey. A show arguably highlighting the softer side of men, while newly trendy man-purses were nowhere to be found, instead luxe voodoo wood bead bracelets were seen alongside necklaces piled on in great quantities, always dotted with white crocheted daisies when presented. Still, the post-hippie band of sun-kissed wanderers was a seductive lot.
