Rodarte Fall 2009

Rodarte presented their collection yesterday and thank heavens for that. NYFW is such a dreadful bore save for VERY few designers, and naturally these two lovely ladies are on that short list. At this point I feel more than comfortable saying that the Mulleavy sisters not only don’t disappoint – but are also clearly striving toward new territories. This is so admirable because they don’t HAVE to do this yet. The last 3 seasons they sort of built a trademark and I definitely admire that they’re not confined within that. To be honest, I assumed we’d see another collection prominently lead by the deconstructed knitwear, which, you know… probably would have been fine, all things considered. But they are already moving along and aspiring to new heights – and while I see some strong influences here – I still think that’s pretty commendable.

These girls must have been working their tails off to have pulled this collection together and I have to say, for me anyhow, it was worth it. The silhouette and some of the bold detailing has not changed this season – but nearly everything else has evolved in some way. The textures here are nothing short of INCREDIBLE. All of the different fabrics intertwined give such a lovely effect. I admire a good print manipulator, such as Dries Van Noten. Blending prints and textures isn’t the easiest thing to do, but some people can just work it in that area and I think Rodarte have fallen into this category as well.

I mentioned above that I see some influences here, perhaps entirely coincidental, of course. The first one – and this was probably due to the boots and color palette – I thought of McQueen’s Fall 2007 collection. Also the textures as well as colors also brought Somarta Fall 2008 to mind, big time.

All in all, I like it. I like Rodarte. I support them a great deal and appreciate them, along with people like Rick Owens, bringing some credibility back to american design. I love that they’re exploring their craft instead of getting into a comfort zone. I can’t wait to see these girls in Paris. Someone make it happen already!

also – I will try to edit this post ASAP with detail shots and whatever else I can find because clearly with Rodarte, the details are where the magic lives.