Pierre Mahéo may have shown his collection at École Duperré, an historic art and design school, and set out blue-and-white pencil cases on the long wooden benches where guests sat. But in case there was any doubt, he was not taking a collegiate – or, heaven forbid – a preppy, turn.
Instead, his idea was to go back to basics, to the ABC’s of fashion – the fit, the fabric and his signature color palette of navy, gray and brown.
“You won’t see me making pink chinos – there is only one king, Ralph Lauren, who can do that,” said Mahéo, adding he has no plans to add logos, or bright all-American colors, to his collections either. In these unstable times, this designer is sticking to his style guns.
For fall he made subtle tweaks to old favorites, drawing in the waist of double-breasted coats ever so slightly, and adding subtle padding for warmth. He made flannel – for jackets, wide-leg trousers and toggle-front coats – as light as possible to suit the gyrations of the weather, and to satisfy customers who want clothes they can layer.
Perhaps most importantly, he’s keeping prices down. “Those coats you saw on the runway won’t cost 4,000 euros,” they’ll be under 1,000 euros, said Mahéo, referring to the parade of plaid, wool, shearling and leather coats that made their way down the classroom floor-cum-runway.
Mahéo also pointed out that every piece on that runway, from the fluid coats to the roomy knits with tone-on-tone scarves at the neck, “will all go into the showroom.”
At a time when so many men’s designers and brands are narrowing their offer, focusing on seasonless, tailored clothing and pieces that endure, Mahéo is certainly on-trend. But he’s always focused on the essentials, and could certainly teach his fellow designers about the beauty of the basics.
