“It’s about making a lot of nyum nyum nyum and no blah blah blah.” My favorite-ever Alexandre Mattiussi summation of his ever-consistent fashion practice was delivered before a show that exemplified it finely. Held in the melancholically weathered post office that Dries Van Noten has also used for recent shows, and soundtracked by some moody sax horned by Caleb Arredondo, it was a cleanly styled and slickly cast masterclass in the difficult art of creating ease.
Ami’s prime pillars were well represented. Oversized tailored outerwear was cut notably here in double-faced gabardine with rough-edged tonal silk patches on the lapels. Roomily structured slouchy suiting for women and men with wide inclined breaky pants was presented both broken and harmonically matched. And refined workwear took its bow via woven patterned wool blouson suiting and springily woolen oversized work shirts. Mattiussi said all this studied roughness, which fit so pleasantly with the beautiful decrepitude of the space, was a form of honesty. It mirrored that of the section of his e-store dedicated to selling pieces of pre-loved Ami in order that they be loved again, wrinkles and all.
Seasonal accents included the crisp cotton shirting both knee-length and conventional with inbuilt matching scarfs. Mattiussi reported that these were inspired by his trips around town on his electric bike, feeling like a cowboy. Those silk patches on the gabardine coats were echoed by the silk bibbing on pale pastel shirting with more conventional collars. A shaggy shearling subplot played out on the collar of a parka for men and in the furry coats both long and short for women. The longer version was accessorized with a new bag named the Mimi, sleekly boxy and unpretentious, which the designer handled with indelicate roughness to demonstrate its toughness as he talked through its features pre-show. Ties continued their slight revival.
Since Ami’s day one back in 2011 Mattiussi has been delivering the same message in multiple slightly various ways: He aims to create clothes that people he knows or who he observes in real life, rather than fashion fantasy, will want to wear. Tonight he reiterated: “These people are real people. They’re running to take the kids back from school. They’re running because they are late to an appointment. They’re running to get home after, you know, a little sex affair. So it’s a reality. There is a chicness in it, but it’s not pretentious. I just want it to look very elegant, and to be very respectful of people who are coming to the store and who are going to buy something. I want to give them an honest product, at a very good price.”
