MAIYET AUTUMN/WINTER 2015-16 READY-TO-WEAR PARIS FASHION WEEK
Maiyet is at a crucial juncture. With eight Paris shows behind it, including today’s, it’s no longer the new kid on the block. The curiosity factor has started to wear off—an issue made clear by the empty seats at the label’s Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild venue. It didn’t help that the show was wedged into a difficult time slot between two big Paris tickets, but the point is that Maiyet will only succeed now if creative director Kristy Caylor can give it a distinctive voice.
Inspired by the Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh, whose work spanned the gap between Art Nouveau and modernism, the collection had a Dries-ian elegance, full of prints and embroideries, the difference being that Caylor operates in a significantly lower key. The clothes were mostly black and white, with touches of dusty pink. The embroideries were many, but subtly done: bronze roses picked out on a long black satin dress; a graphic grid of leather appliqués (picture a modernist stained-glass window) heat-fused to a tunic worn over a midi skirt. The collection sagged a bit when a series of structure-less floor-length silk shirtdresses came around: Most women want a little more support on a big evening. But the black and white knits handmade in Peru made a more substantial, bolder statement. Distinctive? Those sweaters were, definitely.
