Roland
Mouret is set to unveil a new collaboration collection with high street store
Banana Republic. The French designer was approached by the company to bring his
signature body-conscious pieces to a broader audience and he has put together a
collection of 25 new creations, including several figure-flattering dresses
that usually retail for thousands - prices will begin at $165 for the
budget-friendly collection. Speaking on designing for the company, Mouret says
that he did not copy his own pieces, but decided to give Banana Republic
customers a similar experience to his close-fitting dresses: ''It's not a
copy of my clothes in a less expensive [version], but the experience of a
fitted dress for the Banana Republic customer.''
Mouret
says he was particularly inspired by a special Sloan bi-stretch cotton
fabric because he was interested to see what the results would be like. He said
that he was hoping to learn something new from designing with it: ''When I
saw that fabric I was so interested in working with it in my way.''
Melloney
Birkett, vice president of women's design at Banana Republic,
believes working with the famous French designer was easy because both
companies have a focus on creating dresses so it worked out well: ''Roland
is famous for his dresses and we have a very successful dress business.''
The collection will also include other designs besides dresses such as
skirts, tops, trousers and more, each designed with a simple colour palette.
The collaboration is set to hit stores in August this year.
