Mossi Spring 2023 Ready-to-Wear Collection

Mossi Traoré has lots to say, which makes him one of the most compelling voices on the Paris scene. But it can also be a sticking point, because understanding his process requires knowledge of couture, diversity, individuality, inclusion, street art, literature, dance, and a lifelong obsession with Bollywood. And those are just the broad strokes.

Fortunately, the designer now has an invaluable assist on his storytelling: a documentary. En Mode Mossi, by the French director Ségolène Chaplin, premiered on French cable in August and was screened for a small crowd during PFW (it’s now available for streaming, with English subtitles, via the French cable platform Canal+).

His spring collection entitled Les Ripeurs (street cleaners) demands context, but not necessarily encyclopedic knowledge on any one subect: it sprang from a wish to pay tribute to his father, who spent 40 years suiting up in a fluorescent uniform to sweep the streets of the 18th arrondissement.

“It’s a rather intimate collection for me, because it’s inspired by a Paris that’s always right there but not very seen,” Mossi explained during a presentation high above the streets, at 7eme Ciel — the sunlight-bathed top floor at Le Printemps department store. “The idea was to take that and then try to make it classy and chic.”

True to form, Mossi started by going straight to the powers that be, partnering with the City of Paris and convincing the sanitation department to lend him uniforms to deconstruct and revisit in ways both literal and oblique. That eye-popping shade of green was new for him, but beyond the neon brights and tailoring with strategically placed reflective bands, were workhorse pieces like a blousy zip-up crop-top, graceful wide jeans, and a windbreaker in crumply tech fabric. There were also a handful of dresses with subtly reflective finishes; a gradient neon shift, a t-shirt dress with an artfully pinched skirt, and a “trash bag” dress in slightly reflective fabric with elegantly gathered shoulders.

Those — plus a few other pieces not pictured here, like a green shirtdress with a draped sari detail in back — will have a chance to prove their commercial appeal when the designer’s pop-up at Le Printemps opens later this year.