Roland Mouret

Roland Mouret

Fashion designer Roland Mouret was born in Lourdes, France on August 27, 1961. He studied at a fashion school in 1979 but quickly left the academy in search of life experience. He worked as a Creative Director in a Paris based gay fashion publication called Gai Pied Hebdo in the 1980s being an Act Up activist. When Mouret left fashion school lacked garment construction skills but he compensated the set back with his innate sense of sensuality which helped him create some irresistible pieces.

Much later, Mouret started working as a model and stylist at fashion publications like Glamour and Elle. He was approached by Jean Paul Gaultier to work on his upcoming menswear collection while he was at a bar. That was Mouret’s first experience in designing. He shifted to London in 1994 where he worked as a designer for a small label called People Corporation which gave him the courage to start his own label. He teamed up with Scottish businesswoman Sharai Meyers and her husband Andre who helped him financially to start designing his clothing line in 2000. After almost seven years, Mouret shifted to New York and his Scarlett Johansson and Dita Von Teese inspired galaxy dress from the spring 2006 collection finally hit the runway. The dress was lined with a stretchy fabric used in the 1950s called Powerflex which accentuated the hourglass figure. Roland Mouret became instantly successful after the galaxy dress debuted on the runway being called ‘the dress of the season’ by many and celebrities seen donning Mouret’s creation every now and then.

Roland partnership with the Meyers’s ended months after the debut of his spring collection and entered the fashion industry in a rather shocking way. After retiring from his label, Mouret went on a 2 year leave from the fashion industry and everyone had their suspicions on whether he would return to the fashion world or not but he did. He came up with his new label RM which was financed by Simon Fuller. To pique public interest before the launch of his own label, Mouret undertook small projects. He collaborated with Bergdorf Goodman to design a limited edition clothing line consisting of 36 personally signed dresses which was a huge success. Mouret’s second project was designing a limited edition clothing line for the Gap.

The first fashion show denoting the launch of his label RM took place in Paris on July 4, 2007. The fashion show featured 21 easy chic dresses with geometrical patterns. The collection was openly sold on the internet the very next day and within hours; his first collection was completely sold out marking the tremendous success of his label’s launch. Roland managed to buy back the rights to his name on September 9, 2010 and opened his first freestanding store in 2011 at Carlos Place in London right opposite to the Connaught. The new two storey shop sold menswear, women’s wear and atelier; including his design workshop. An announcement was made in April 2014 that Mouret would collaborate with Banana Republic for a 25 piece collection of skirts, tops, dresses and trousers in a muted color palette.

Becoming a designer in his 30s, Roland Mouret may have been a late bloomer but he has certainly managed to win the hearts of many celebs like Victoria Beckham, Nicole Kidman and Sienna Miller with his irresistible lady-like designs.