With “KIN LA BELLE,” Ladislas Mandé marks LAD’s debut on the official schedule of Paris Men’s Fashion Week—a collection that bridges European sartorial precision and African cultural vitality.
Some debuts don’t feel like debuts. LAD/’s first appearance on the official schedule of Paris Men’s Fashion Week SS27 had an air of confidence—the precise restraint of someone who knows exactly what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. “KIN LA BELLE”: the title alone speaks to the ambition. Kinshasa, the beautiful one. The Congolese capital as an aesthetic reference, as a source, as a statement.
Ladislas Mandé founded LAD/ with a conviction that is reflected in every piece of the collection: luxury clothing can be a form of expression. Not just an object, but a conversation—between cultures, between crafts, between regions. The SS27 pieces are produced in Italy, Japan, Turkey, and the United States. Four regions, four technical traditions, one vision.
What stands out in LAD/ is not the originality of the concept—fashion has always absorbed and reworked identities from around the world. What stands out is the precision with which Mandé rejects folklorization. There are no “African references” in the looks in the decorative sense of the term: no wax prints, no ethnic embroidery applied to European suits. What we see is a way of being—a way of occupying space through clothing that carries the memory of Kinshasa without explicitly referencing it.
The collection operates by subtraction. The cut reigns supreme; the fabric is the primary element. What we see in the silhouettes is a certain idea of poise—that of someone who doesn’t need to prove their legitimacy because it is an integral part of their identity. This is perhaps LAD/’s most contemporary lesson: in a fashion world saturated with discourse on diversity, Mandé speaks through his clothing rather than in spite of it.
Geography as a Method
Manufacturing in Italy, Japan, Turkey, and the United States is not a logistical whim. It is a method. Each region brings a specific expertise: the drape of Italian fabrics, the precision of Japanese craftsmanship in the finishes, the Turkish mastery of weaving, and the freedom of American design. What Mandé seeks is a piece that cannot be reduced to a single origin—just like him.
This approach places LAD/ in the tradition of designers who have turned their life stories into a creative framework: Dries Van Noten and his exploration of colors from around the world, Haider Ackermann and his back-and-forth travels between Bogotá and Antwerp. But while it took these designers decades to find their voice, Mandé seems to have found it right from the start. The SS27 show in Paris is proof of this: the international fashion community saw not just a promising talent, but an established fashion house.
An open-ended question
The wonderful question posed by “KIN LA BELLE” is this: What does luxury look like when it refuses to be the heir to a single culture? LAD/ is beginning to sketch out an answer. It may not be complete for a few seasons yet. But for now, the sketch is remarkable.
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