RODARTE: PART 1

My first encounter with Rodarte (and by encounter I mean through the pages of a magazine) was way back in 2005 when the Mulleavy sisters first concocted a gothic mix of cobweb spun knit dresses, creating a collection that merged Japanese horror movies with an ethereal tenderness; a creative contradiction that has been carried on throughout their design career. 

(SS 08 my favourite looks in my favourite colour)

The initial aesthetic of the Mulleavy sisters both enthralled and just plain confused me. On first sight my inner monologue went a little like this: 'It's so pretty and weirdly practical in a, 'it's already full of holes so lets wear it everywhere' kinda way. But then again it'll probably catch on EVERYTHING. OOO but so pretty…' As you can see not once in my tooing and froing did the question of expense pop into my head. What did occur to me was how I could explain this whole new fashion favourite to my father. Knitted separates full of holes? I can see his brain exploding at the nonsensical and feeble explanation I'd offer up to him. 

Part ballerina, part warrior princess, with a pinch of the otherworldly, and a futuristic twist, all with its roots firmly set in the folkloric. The Mulleavy sisters magically encompass all of this without ever seeming superfluous. (It was difficult enough writing up that list, let alone channelling it in new and exciting collections every season!) 

Check out Vogue's timeline of the sister's collections right from the beginning. Seriously it's worth a look, but seen as you're already here, you might as well peruse my little recap of Rodarte throughout the years.

(AW 06/07)

From the strikingly sexy AW 06/07 collection, focusing on a very feminine silhouette in a seductively rich palette of deep crimson, blackest black and plush cream, to the voluminous ensembles of their SS 07 show, that encompassed both a simplicity and a decadence emphatic of their unique vision. The focus centred on the overcoat in their AW 07 collection, sending statement dress coats in opulent metallics down the runway, only to take a sexier turn in their SS 08 show. 

(SS 08)

The Mulleavy's description of the SS08 collection as being "about anime and the story of the tourist child/ vampire hunter" is enough in itself to make this my favourite Rodarte collection EVER. And the clothes are pretty great too. Despite Lauren David Peten's rather biting review, likening the sheer torso-ed cocktail dresses to a mishmash of Tonya Harding and Bjork, and ending with the advice: "they might want to keep the cartoonish, faerie princess trimmings to a minimum when designing for grown-up women who reside in the real world", I fully applaud the frothy dresses, pastel hues, shiny trousers and the romantic swathes of fabric that seductively  drape around the body. Plus the last three dresses remind me of clouds and candy floss. I love candy floss.

(AW 09 A gothic mix of blood stained layers)

AW 09 riffed on the same shredded crochet/knit thing emblematic of the sister's aesthetic, this time updated with a Japanese horror twist. The red streaked (or blood stained) gossamer dresses were a little too literal looking for me but damn the pairing of those cobwebby tights and killer Louboutin fetish spikes were insane - in a good way. 

(THOSE shoes)

SS 09 was a concoction of references: skeletons, X-rays, star wars and the colours of the cosmos culminating in a surprisingly boring collection. Only on closer inspection could the true detail be appreciated. We'll ignore this one. NEXT!   
   

(SS 09 Not my fav!)

One word; Frankenstein. I'll leave that sink in. AW 09/10 saw a kinda makeshift approach to designing, including hand-marbled leather, silver lame, metallic linen, loopy knits and glittery bits and bobs. (I'm going to ignore the murky coloured boots in favour of its black counter part.)  

(AW 09/10 Killer boots)

And here I take a pause. Oogle over these pictures for a bit and check back for Part 2 soon. 

(All of the above pictures are taken from Vogue and I claim no rights over them.)