Roland Mouret

Roland Mouret
Born 1961
Lourdes, France
Occupation Fashion designer

Roland Mouret (born 27 August 1961)[1] is a French fashion designer.

Roland Mouret was born in Lourdes, France where his father was a butcher. He first learned about fabric while working in his father’s shop, watching the folding of the butcher’s apron and learning to fold it to reveal a clean aspect, seeing the pattern of the blood on the white linen. He learned to cut from watching the way the skin of an animal is sectioned and divided with the knife. A confidence, a directness and boldness, informed his aesthetic and his approach defined by these early memories. Referring to Mouret’s work, renowned British fashion writer Colin McDowell states, “The art of butchery and dress making are comparable as both share a precision of cutting, folding and hand workmanship - and require courage and judgment.”

Years later at his father’s funeral he reconnected with his hometown. “We didn’t drive to the funeral. We walked because it was a beautiful day and I saw all the little streets that contain all my childhood dreams and experiences.” That year he dedicated a collection to his father’s memory and paid tribute to his inspiration in the cut and fold of the clothes he presented. It is these experiences that have directly influenced the physicality of the way Mouret designs. He instinctively drapes fabric on the body rather than drawing sketches. Mouret needs to be close to the shape of the body, interacting with the fabric and form with his hands. The essence of his success, he insists, is the physicality of knowing how a person wants to undress. “Dresses are for undressing. We all dress up to undress”.

Roland Mouret has created the most coveted of womenswear collections. The designer has defined the era of the iconic dress which have become known by a single name - Galaxy, Titanium, Moon – and have earned Mouret a reputation as magician, master of structure and silhouette and as a man with an intuitive understanding of the female form.

Brand History

For twenty years Roland Mouret has firmly established himself as a leading light in international design. With awards including British Designer of the Year at the Elle Style Awards and a record three nominations at the Lycra British fashion awards, including designer of the year, his work is recognised and praised both within and outside the industry for its originality and his unique vision of women’s sensuality.

Roland continues to draw upon his eclectic background for his inspiration and creative perspective. Born in 1961 in Lourdes, this son of a French butcher has emerged from the fashion scenes of Paris and London working as an artistic director, model and stylist. He presented his first collection during London Fashion Week in February 1998 and received huge critical acclaim, with Collezioni giving him his first cover.

Having initially been established as one of the leaders of the Demi-Couture movement, Roland evolved his technique of draping and structure to meet the growing demands of modern ready to wear. He and his team built Roland Mouret Designs Ltd. with worldwide recognition including his catwalk shows in New York, the famous “Galaxy Dress” and dressing numerous international stars including Scarlett Johansson, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett and Demi Moore.

In September 2006 Roland Mouret entered into a new partnership with Simon Fuller’s 19 Entertainment enabling him to rethink how, when and where to create and show his collections.

In October 2008, Mouret introduced a new collection – RM Bespoke Limited Edition. Based on a combination of the designer’s signature draping techniques and his distinctive dress silhouette, a selection of key retailers were offered the opportunity to create their own limited edition dress in an exclusive colour and fabric.

At the beginning of 2009, 2 new elements were also introduced to the RM collection: Edition and Jersey. Completing the womenswear offering, a knitwear collection was also shown as part of the AW09 collection, which will be on sale from June 2009.

In January 2010 Roland presented his first menswear collection to press to critical acclaim. In September 2010, Roland successfully acquired the rights to use his original trademark and mover his entire operations into a Mayfair townhouse in the form of a “maison” – 8 Carlos place, which would become his UK Flagship store.

In February 2011, 8 Carlos Place, W1 - the house of Roland Mouret –opened its doors for retail business.

2013 saw the launch of the Roland Mouret shoe, bag and bridal collections as well as the continued development of its successful sunglasses line.

The website and ecommerce functionality was relaunched in 2014 on rolandmouret.com opening the digital flagship store to Roland fans around the world.

The brand announced the opening of the new flagship store on 1006 Madison Avenue, New York in September 2016, the bold move from its first location opened in 2014 at 952 Madison Avenue, marks a new beginning as the flagship upgrades to a townhouse, continuing the concept of ‘La maison du Roland Mouret’.

In February 2016 Roland Mouret returned to London, to mark his 20th anniversary as a Designer. Having shown in Paris for over 10 years, the brand returned to showcase its Autumn/Winter 2017 collection in the fashion capital, where it all began.

References

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