MONDI used to be young, fun and rather frilly; sort of sex-kittenish but well-bred. Spring-Summer 93 shows how radically the German label has changed.
There isn't a short or waisted jacket in Mondi's catalogue. Skirts and dresses are nearly all calf-length or longer. Solid colours, mostly in pastels, dominate and the only sex kitten - a Marilyn Monroe clone in a cutey-pie sun dress and gold-trimmed white shorts with bustier top - is heavily outnumbered by purposeful career women. There's even a sleek young mum with junior perched on her hip.
''Our look is more mature,'' Mondi's founder Herwig Zahm confirmed on Monday before heading for Beijing and Shanghai with international export director Fidelius Graf von Rehbinder. ''It has come through being more international and contemporary in approach.'' The flying visit to Hongkong - ''my first time here in about 12 years; amazing how much this city has developed'' - was celebrated with a long, serious lunch for the fashion press.
Curiously, no one from Lane Crawford, sole retailer for Mondi in the territory, was present despite the department store's role in achieving the label's thumping success. Since its introduction here five years ago, turnover has more than quadrupled in Hongkong, Mr Zahm said.
He attributes this to ''the classic German virtues of reliability, punctuality and good workmanship''. Add smart marketing. By pitching Mondi at the ''ageless woman'' and resisting the insane mark-ups that have alienated consumers worldwide, the 25-year-old Munich-based company has continued to prosper.
And expand. Mondi (''meaning 'world'; much better than Zahm, I thought'') now sells in 25 countries and is visibly up market. Prices which range from $1,500 to $1,700 for a dress and between $2,000 and $3,000 for a suit no doubt have helped. February sawthe introduction of the full range to Harrods and Harvey Nichols, plus a capsule collection for luxury liner, the QE2. But that's small potatoes compared with Mr Zahm's big objective.