If there’s one factor Houston-native Bach Mai is aware of, it’s the way to carry the drama to couture. Simply ask a few of Hollywood’s largest stars. Mai has dressed an enviable who’s who record of celebrities who aren’t afraid to take up house, together with Jennifer Lopez, Megan Thee Stallion, Lucy Liu, and Amal Clooney.
Mai began dressmaking as a teen, ultimately securing an apprenticeship with the Houston Ballet, and went on to work for such manufacturers as Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, and underneath legendary designer John Galliano at Maison Margiela.
In 2021, he launched his personal namesake label paying homage to his Vietnamese roots and incomes renown for avant garde seems to be marrying old-school couture and trendy femininity. Since then, his work has been featured in Vogue and WWD, in addition to on the runways of New York Vogue Week.
So, after all, we’re thrilled to have the designer carry all of his style drama to “The Bomb Vogue Present LA,” offered by Cadillac, on October 14.
Earlier than the present, we caught up with Mai to speak about his inventive influences, what American luxurious means to him, and the way he’s translating Cadillac’s design legacy into a modern second.
FASHION BOMB DAILY: How would you describe your design aesthetic?
BACH MAI: My work lives on the intersection of three pillars of inspiration: mid-century couture, Americana, and the Asian cultural influences I grew up with. I’ve all the time been enchanted by the golden age of couture: Dior, Balenciaga, Charles James, and the best way they sculpted a girl’s silhouette with such romance and intention. I pair that with the heritage of American sportswear, actual garments for actual girls dwelling actual lives, all seen via the glamour and class I got here to know rising up in Texas. The result’s effusively female, a little bit audacious, and all the time joyful. I design for a lady who attire for her personal pleasure, who needs to face out within the room, and who believes style must be enjoyable.
FBD: What makes your work distinctly “you”?
BACH MAI: What makes it distinctly mine is that it’s rooted in couture approach, however by no means treasured. It’s meant to be lived in, danced in, and remembered.
FBD: What excites you most about decoding a luxurious automobile via your personal inventive lens?
BACH MAI: Cadillac is a real American icon, and there’s a ravishing kinship between its world and mine. Among the most glamorous moments in American design historical past belong to Cadillac, in the identical mid-century period that evokes a lot of my work. What excited me most was discovering the dialog between the 2: the sweep of a fender and the sweep of a skirt, the precision of an engineered line and the precision of a tailor-made seam.
In curating these 4 seems to be, I used to be drawn to the concept of movement, of a girl arriving, and of the boldness you are feeling stepping out of one thing fantastically made. The Multiline factors towards the long run, and I like the concept of honoring that heritage of American glamour whereas imagining the place it goes subsequent.
FBD: How do you outline luxurious, and what position do craftsmanship, supplies and element play in that definition?
BACH MAI: For me, luxurious is the sensation of one thing made with devotion. It’s the hours you’ll be able to’t see: the hand ending, the fittings, the hundred small choices that make a garment really feel easy when it’s worn. I used to be lucky to be taught within the high fashion ateliers in Paris, and that have taught me a deep reverence for craft.
Supplies are the place each piece begins. I’m drawn to stunning, artisanal textiles which have a life and a narrative of their very own. Element is what makes a chunk private, and it’s why a lot of what we do is made to order. True luxurious isn’t about extra. It’s about intention, and concerning the pleasure a girl feels when she is aware of one thing was made only for her.
