Alexandre Mattiussi can’t get enough of his native Paris — or of its denizens. There was the 2022 show in Montmartre opened by the French actress and “Amélie” star Audrey Tautou, while his fall 2024 collection had an elegant Parisian apartment building as its backdrop, with models dressed as bourgeois neighbors going about their daily business.
For spring, he returned to Paris once again, dressing friends and neighbors for optimum chic in the city heat.
“I want to spend more time in Paris in the summer — go to museums, take two- to three-hour lunches, and see my friends and family. These clothes are my midsummer night’s dream, and I want people to be happy wearing them,” said the designer of his coed collection, which unfurled on the upper floors of an historic building on Boulevard Saint-Germain.
Office workers and commuters, please turn away now. These were clothes aimed squarely at a work-from-home crowd whose days are long and leisurely, and whose nights are all about laid-back glamour.
Mattiussi tapped into a warm, earthy palette of olive, lichen, cognac and mustard for breezy tailored suits with slashed, open backs and pushed-up sleeves; cool circle skirts reminiscent of a 1950s-era Brigitte Bardot, and easy tailored trousers with thick, sporty stripes running down the sides.
For evening, there were long and fluttery pleated black dresses worn with flat sandals, or backless slipper styles, and easy, sleeveless gowns paired with silver and gold cuff bracelets.
To keep out the evening chill, there were oversize trenches with rolled-up sleeves and plaid linings, and lightweight three-button coats with slashes at the back.
The soft, squishy leather bags were a standout. They included totes for those daily trips to the marché, and boxy shoulder bags — large and small — in colors such as cognac and taupe.
During a walk-through, Mattiussi tossed one of the bags over his shoulder and said: “How easy is this? You can wear it when you take the kids to school, wear it when you drive your scooter.”
It was dressing for real life, with a large dose of glamour.