At Roland Mouret, Women On the Verge

LONDON, United Kingdom —"What did you make today?" asked Roland Mouret's invitation. "Mistakes", came the answer. His soundtrack was ten versions of House of the Rising Sun, bluesy saga of a life gone wrong. And his inspiration was "Eyes of Laura Mars", serial killer loose in New York's fashion industry in the late 1970s. That was, to say the least, an ambiguous way for Mouret to set the tone for his new collection. But it fitted with the essentially dark mood.

The heaviness here was new for Mouret. Tweeds, corduroys and tapestry jacquards were tailored, draped, zipped and twisted into his signature shapes. Loosened threads and unfinished hems compounded the impression of women on the verge. There was a fundamental contradiction in the clothes that were highly sensual at the same time as they did such a substantial job of covering up the body. That's where the ambiguity really came into play. Let's All Chant from the "Laura Mars" soundtrack played at the finale, a reminder of the way that upbeat disco scored terror in the original movie. Mouret's heading in a new direction.