This season in New York, many designers were feeling unusually glum. Backstage, many of the week’s top talents candidly spoke of looking to fashion for joy and upliftment—especially at a time when tensions are at a high with the coming U.S. election, and the economy continues to falter. Bach Mai, too, was in that mood. “This last year has been the hardest of my life,” said Mai backstage before his own show. “It’s harder than ever for young designers right now.” For spring, then, Mai desperately needed a mood boost in his studio—and he found his happiness by injecting his signature evening dresses and red carpet gowns with a heavy dose of bright, upbeat colors. “I wanted it to be about clawing through that darkness—there’s not a stitch of black,” said Mai, who shared an inspiration quote from Albert Camus for the season: “In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.”
Mai’s sugary color palette for spring certainly could put a smile on the most sour of faces. Referencing the work of artist James Turrell and the Mexican architect Luis Barragán, Mai zeroed in on an evening collection that played with shades of bright reds, oranges, pinks, and seafoam greens. “I love Barragán’s profound use of color, which is bold and subtle at the same time,” he said. The mix was pretty much the fashion equivalent of taking an upper. The brazen hues worked especially well on Mai’s more pared-back designs, like a strapless bodice gown with a cascading tulle skirt in red, pink, and purple; and one of his strongest looks, a gauzy white sleeveless top with a cascading back train, styled over a pale-green micro short—a minty-fresh combo.
Many of Mai’s gala-ready creations this season served as the his interpretation of American glamour (see: his colorful organza “jeans”), though he also infused elements of mid-century haute couture and traditional Japanese Bijinga art. The problem with doing couture, however, is that things need to be tailored and fit to perfection: some of Mai’s more complicated designs, like his deep-V dresses with swishy pleated skirts, had evident fit problems at the bust. His materials, of course, were as luxe as ever—finished in sumptuous failles, moirés, and satins. “We wanted lightness,” he said, but at times his ambitious cuts distracted from the beautiful materials and colors he chose to make them in. Some details, like the thick bands across the butt, or the leather gloves, or the ropes tied at the waist, also seemed to be there just to be there. But the maximalism will likely be appreciated by Mai’s growing celebrity clientele (he recently dressed Amal Clooney in Venice). As one head-turning look came after the next, you could easily see them sparking joy at the Oscars or the Emmys.