Mossi

M O S S I

C R E A T I N G D A R K P O E T R Y T H R O U G H F A S H I O N & A R T

Art and fashion have always been inextricably linked. Artistic periods and famous paintings often serve as inspiration for designers, who sometimes even explicitly include their source material on the garment. Collaborations are common, with artists being invited to create specific pieces for a capsule collection. However few designers tie their work more closely to art and artists than Mossi Traore. The visionary Malian-French designer has created a brand that is as much a philosophy on ethics, diversity and social responsibility as a clothing line…and he invites a different artist into an intensive partnership each season. Rather than serving as a catalyst for a collection or designing one or two pieces, Mossi’ s chosen artists are immersed in the entire creation process. A true meeting of the minds occurs, and the art in question is intertwined with all aspects of a given collection.

This season ’ s chosen artist was the sculptor Angelique Lefevre. A textile and thermoplastic sculptor, Angelique was a perfect fit for a collection focused on structured motifs and sustainability. To begin with sustainability, many of the pieces were made from casein fabric, an innovative cotton-adjacent material composed of a milk protein extracted from overfermented dairy products. Mossi’ s development of casein is an environmentally friendly choice but also a socially conscious one; the casein is sourced from waste milk and thus provides an additional revenue stream for French dairies. It’ s the type of innovation that has the potential to beneficially revolutionize the fashion industry, particularly if it spreads to large textile-exporting countries (such as China and Bangladesh) that emit significant pollutants and have agricultural-based economies. Such an innovation is not surprising from Mossi, who has always been an ambassador for ethical fashion and takes a hyper-local approach to production. His collections are created in Villiers-sur-Marne, the suburb in which he grew up. Whether through founding a design school and workshop in his old neighborhood or holding fashion shows featuring local talent, collaborating with and assisting his community are central to his ethos. Mossi has described his work as “dark poetry ” and his designs have conversed with ideas of religion and death for years.

His first fashion show, in 2011, was held in a church; later on he took the bold step of holding a show in Pére Lachaise Cemetery. The theme returned for his Paris Fashion Week debut in Autumn/Winter 2022; a skull motif, sporting a backwards cap in many permutations) was central to his collaboration with Angelique. It appeared on everything from white quilted jackets to silky black tops to a pair of Stan Smiths, often in an ethereal blue that was reminiscent of both the sea and amoeba-like life forms. This was streetwear, but with a clean color palette, graceful form, and exuberant energy: distinctly Mossi, but also distinctly a product of this collaboration.

What’ s next for Mossi? In just a week he ’ll be debuting a khadi collection with a runway show at Lakme Fashion Week, a fitting venue given his rich history of travel in India. But that’ s just one step in the creation of the Mossi-verse. From running his design school to collaborating with the Paris Opera,, his endeavors run the gamut through education, theater, and art. And, although his career is just taking off, he ’ s already thinking of younger generations and how to pass on the art of Parisian couture to them.