The Paris Olympics are just around the corner, and Mira Mikati carries that spirit into the fall with her own twist.
“Where I used to like checks, now I like stripes,” the designer said during a preview, showing a low-slung tennis skirt, not in white but in gray, double-layered with a new accessory: striped jersey underwear. “If the waist is lower, you need something underneath,” she noted by way of explanation. “It gives you more space to play.”
Rainbow stripes were the basic line in this collection, both on underwear and outerwear. Long and short coats showed off Bayadères borrowed from the south of France, but they’ll feel right at home in Palm Springs. A rainbow polo dress looked easy, though knit belts-slash-bandeaux offered another way to add a pop of color to your wardrobe staples — a new way to promote clothing longevity, the designer said.
Elsewhere, Mikati played the transparency card with flowing mesh pajamas for evening and dresses with diamond cutouts intended as layering elements or beach cover-ups, depending on the occasion. Her characteristic humor was clearly visible, for example in a ‘Chill’ knit with a small red and yellow pill instead of the letter i. So did her heart, on a rainbow knit with cut-out details lined with colorful embroidery, and on a cropped rugby top embroidered with ‘All You Need Is Love’.
Mikati often gets questions about a catwalk show, but as her tenth anniversary approaches, she says she is exploring alternatives. “I don’t like shows; Experiences are more me,” she said, adding, “I think people expect more than just a great garment; they want the emotion and lifestyle that comes with it.” Coming from a designer who once dressed a bicycle in knits for fun and is still fielding requests, it’s a safe bet that whatever she ultimately decides to do will bring rainbows.
