Twelve years ago, before he carved out his place in the Paris fashion ecosystem, Mossi Traoré staged a fashion show at Père Lachaise cemetery. This time round, Paris City Hall declined his request to show there, but he was unperturbed, determined to celebrate what he sees as the poetry of the famous graveyard, channeling it as a message not to fear death. This was most literally interpreted on a pantsuit emboldened with the epithet “Mon amie la mort” (“My friend Death,” in English), one of a series of statement looks that also included a tank top calling for peace.

But it was with his sculptural yet ethereal silhouettes, in which Traoré excels, that he was most successful in translating couture aesthetics for everyday with an arty twist.

Defying macabre interpretations, the fan of Madame

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