Rodarte F/W 09.10 New York

[Seano]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQB3QkeUEro

 

[Seano]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBOdxCDs_i8

 

[Seano]

Its not the greatest but i like it none the less... good job

 

[style_expert]

I for one very much agree with Cathy Horyn and I'm glad someone's giving them some constructive critisiscm instead of sole praise.

 

[Spike413]

I can see where you're coming from, but I do wonder to what point you think fashion should lead?
A big thing in my book with fashion right now is that I tend to prefer designers who manage to create a look to fashion our decade and the next. Endless chains of references to other centuries of style as most designers prefer to do will not do for me anymore. Phillip Lim does the sixties, Zac Posen does Victoriana, Nina Ricci does Edwardiana, Marc Jacobs does the eighties in absolute hideousness true to this time.
Fashioning our decade means to cut all temporal references, to go away from all these established shapes that already have a stamp on them, colours that work fine with them, hairstyle and make-up and shoes included.
Nicolas Ghesquiere at Balenciaga, Miuccia Prada, Alber Elbaz come to my mind when I think about this way of designing. And not on the same level, but as the next generation maybe I think of such likes as the Mulleavys.
Their designs whether deliberate or not, I can't tell, point to nothing but themselves. Of course there are well-hid inspirations. But you can just as well forget them and the clothing is entirely self-referential. That is the point a good collection should lead to, at least in my fashion philosophy.

What I mean is that so far their exploration and creation of texture, color and surface detail hasn't actually said anything except "this is what we're about", and while it's important that a designer says that when they're starting out, you can't just reiterate it all the time. Even though this collection is a step forward for them in terms of mood and look, they haven't completely evolved. They aren't using those collage-like mixes of texture and embellishment that they've been playing with for a few seasons now in a new way. They're just using them to different effect and repeating it 35 times.

Don't get me wrong, I think their work is beautiful, interesting and unique, but I can also understand why some people are starting to question if what Rodarte has to offer fashion goes beyond what's on the surface of clothes.

 

[Caffeine]

^ So you must feel that way about all fashion critics then, that they're pompous morons who shouldn't be sharing their views? Let's face it, fashion criticism, in fact any kind of criticism of a creative field, is entirely unnecessary since it's sole purpose is to critique. So your accusation that her writing is just to blow smoke up her own a$$ for the sake of proving her knowledge or indulging in her ego seems a little ridiculous since that's pretty much what all fashion critics do. Disagree with her all you want, but saying that her reviews are self indulgent b.s. in a sea of meaningful insights is kind of ludicrous.

I'm actually going to go against the grain here and say that I do agree with some of the points she made in her review, despite the fact that I do really like the collection. I too don't think there was any emotion in this collection, or at the very least the way the collection was presented. It was like an army of clones, cold, alien, detached. As well I do think that Kate and Laura are mostly concerned with decorating clothes as opposed to creating them, and while I love the results for the interest and beauty, you can't deny that they don't seem too interested in the mechanics of fashion. They're working with the facade. I'm not saying they have to change that, but people will begin to question it sooner or later. I think Horyn's entire review was basically her way of asking when this evolution will lead to a point.

I was thinking about the same thing the other day. It's similar to architecture design. The reason why Le Corbusier is a master is his revolution to free walls from the structure(columns and beams). The entire design process changed and the shapes of the walls don't necessarily have to follow the columns. Many architects have had great inventions or ideas over the years, but i have never seen one who is praised for creating beautiful facade only. In comparison, Rodarte is like this great designer duo who are really good at creating a new surface but the surface only. If their structure (if there is any) or silhouette never changes, I really don't see why they need to stay in fashion design - they could have just set up a shop in New York to provide interesting fabrics such as Lesage(sp?) in France.

 

[irulan]

Thank you, Spike, I can entirely see your point. It's merely due to different expectations towards fashion that we perceive this collection differently.
What annoyed me about Horyn's review was the harshness of her subjectivity. As somebody has said before, Horyn's interpretation does not render every other as wrong. Collections are like poems, in that way.

 

[omgitschristine]

I still can't get over this collection. The boots are amazing and everything goes perfectly together! Even the hair was perfect!

 

[eternitygoddess]

^ So you must feel that way about all fashion critics then, that they're pompous morons who shouldn't be sharing their views? Let's face it, fashion criticism, in fact any kind of criticism of a creative field, is entirely unnecessary since it's sole purpose is to critique. So your accusation that her writing is just to blow smoke up her own a$$ for the sake of proving her knowledge or indulging in her ego seems a little ridiculous since that's pretty much what all fashion critics do. Disagree with her all you want, but saying that her reviews are self indulgent b.s. in a sea of meaningful insights is kind of ludicrous.

I'm actually going to go against the grain here and say that I do agree with some of the points she made in her review, despite the fact that I do really like the collection. I too don't think there was any emotion in this collection, or at the very least the way the collection was presented. It was like an army of clones, cold, alien, detached. As well I do think that Kate and Laura are mostly concerned with decorating clothes as opposed to creating them, and while I love the results for the interest and beauty, you can't deny that they don't seem too interested in the mechanics of fashion. They're working with the facade. I'm not saying they have to change that, but people will begin to question it sooner or later. I think Horyn's entire review was basically her way of asking when this evolution will lead to a point.

Excellent post.

 

[Scott]

has anyone actually seen their stuff up close to sort of support the argument of stagnant construction? i'd love to hear some reviews about that.

i dunno,i've never seen anything in hand. but i do want to say,while i understand the idea of experimenting and exploring more,there are also elements that remain distinct within a designers work. signatures,if you will. i mean when you buy rick owens you look for his fluid volume and that statuesque poet silhouette...or with a margiela that certain cutting.

i still firmly believe they're progressing rather nicely. and while i do tend to agree about construction evolution,or more balance,i really haven't seen anything from this distant perspective that would lead me to believe their work is necessarily 'soulless'.

 

[Spike413]

I've seen their clothes in person and I was honestly more taken with the way the embellishment was assembled. The actual body of all of those knee length hand painted dresses from F/W 08 was a pretty standard bodice shape that used traditional construction to build it. It was beautiful in that the torso portion was completely sheer and allowed you to see the construction, like darts that are completely visible, but the shape itself and the methods used to achieve it (bustline darts, darts in the waist, fisheye darts) didn't really live up to how intricate some of the decoration was. Maybe that was their intention, I don't know.

That's just what I took away from it though, and really the only things I got to see were a number of dresses from the runway and some of the knitwear (which is gorgeous in person).

 

[Forwardmotionis]

are there any more HQs of this collection the ones a few pages back aren't working and id love to see more of this!

 

[allure2058]

i love the casting for this show! Daul and Iek are totally so RODARTE

 

[glamourama]

the new nyc stars!
the composion is perfect!
but i dont like these boots

 

[SGaspar]

I liked it but I didn't love it. Too much going on. The whole collection is amazing but I'm not in love with every dress

 

[cesarcmma]

omg look at this I would have loved it more with the belt but I'm glad the girls are getting more press

wireimages.com & style.com via tfser Mahalofashion

 

[glamrockgal]

I totally think they have a progress(I've read the previous pages)
but based on 1 main look collection is not a great idea.I wish it wasnt like that.Anywayz here I liked these 2 from the collection most:

 

[glamrockgal]

I must add : I prefer the black boots than natural grays.I also loved the vibrant green skirt from the collection.I hope Rodarte sisters would work with Christian Louboutin again

 

[BerlinRocks]

^ So you must feel that way about all fashion critics then, that they're pompous morons who shouldn't be sharing their views? Let's face it, fashion criticism, in fact any kind of criticism of a creative field, is entirely unnecessary since it's sole purpose is to critique. So your accusation that her writing is just to blow smoke up her own a$$ for the sake of proving her knowledge or indulging in her ego seems a little ridiculous since that's pretty much what all fashion critics do. Disagree with her all you want, but saying that her reviews are self indulgent b.s. in a sea of meaningful insights is kind of ludicrous.

I'm actually going to go against the grain here and say that I do agree with some of the points she made in her review, despite the fact that I do really like the collection. I too don't think there was any emotion in this collection, or at the very least the way the collection was presented. It was like an army of clones, cold, alien, detached. As well I do think that Kate and Laura are mostly concerned with decorating clothes as opposed to creating them, and while I love the results for the interest and beauty, you can't deny that they don't seem too interested in the mechanics of fashion. They're working with the facade. I'm not saying they have to change that, but people will begin to question it sooner or later. I think Horyn's entire review was basically her way of asking when this evolution will lead to a point.

I second eternityg
that is an excellent post !

we should even just keep that onto this thread !

i would love to read more about yr view on "decoration", though.
coz that's something that interests me

 

[Donatello89]

very good. future is everywhere this season