The word unisex and fashion doesn't conjure up visions of frovolilty because there's a preference to hide behind 'androgyny', to keep thing as asexual as possible - cue a lot of black, a lot of ambiguous cuts, minimalism and a general mood of sombriety.  However, Alexis Mabille has an entirely different take on the word 'unisex', and even more intrigued I am that it's fuelled by a very simple motif.      

I first caught sight of Alexis Mabille via his trail of bow-ed up garments in a display at Didier Ludot in Paris last year and since then he  has been rising up in profile as a numero uno bow meister and I feel a little slow on the uptake posting about Mabille only now.  His own Impasse 13 unisex line and accessories line 'Treizeor' are both really quite indicative of his Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture education and his work experience at Nina Ricci, Ungaro and Christian Dior.  In a recent Hintmag interview, he is labelled the 'Christmas ornament of Paris' and his obsession with elegance, whimsicality and 'play' are really apparent 

From the AW08-9 collection...

Be prepared to be inundated with bows when viewing his collections but it seems that this singular motif applied to both men and women is his driving force and there are no bounds as to what he can do with the bow tie, making them as discreet or as extravagant as he wants and making them work for both men and women.  If you're not a bow-fan though, perhaps the collections themselves might peak your interest a bit.  The cut and fit of Mabille's clothes work for both men and women, yet this doesn't mean that elements of feminity and masculinity are completely wiped out to provide a clean slate and ambiguity.  If anything you get a clash between the two sexes running through his clothes with a mish-mash of periodic costume references that are only slight hints.  He says that he wants to create beauty or not and that ugly-pretty line can sometimes be crossed but you're constantly asking whether he has crossed it or not.  My eyebrows did furrow a little and yes, a perplexed expression did cross my face but the overall feeling is that for the right people, myself included, these are clothes that are hugely expressive and I'm 100% sure they're the sort that bring a genuine smile to your face as opposed to a cool smug expression when donning clothes that are 100% appropriate and 'bang-on'.  When things are a bit 'off', I'm somehow more intrigued and hence why I'll be following Mabille's bow trail for a while yet...

From the SS08 collection...

Of course I have also been in Dover Street Market stroking some Alexis Mabille's bows and oggling on Couture Lab too.... hope I haven't given any bow fetishists a seizure or anything...