Rodarte Spring 2023 Ready-to-Wear Collection | Vogue

SPRING 2023 READY-TO-WEAR

“We started off by being very inspired by music and the theatricality of performing on stage,” said Laura Mulleavy, explaining Rodarte’s spring collection on a recent Zoom call, sitting next to her sister Kate. Even if you hadn’t heard her say it, you’d only need to take a quick glance at the first look of the collection to get it: a model in a psychedelic swirled slip dress, her blue hair asymmetrically Aqua Net-ted to new heights. “We were really wanting to feel something that was really vibrant and alive and about lighting and connectivity,” said Mulleavy.

The color palette was one way the sisters achieved their sartorial goals, especially on simple slip dresses—some lingerie-inspired, others with a more vintage flare—in shades of acid orange, turquoise blue, grass green, and rose petal pink, familiar to anyone who grew up a little bit alternative in the ’90s. Burnout velvet, a staple fabric of the era, stood out on a dress made of light blue chiffon, where it featured a print of white and black horses, and on an asymmetric dress made of white, magenta, and purple chiffon stripes languidly draped on the body, with the excess fabric creating a waterfall of ruffles. Look closer, and the white and black leaf print was also burnout metallic velvet. Though the dresses were by no means minimal, there was a certain ease to their silhouettes that stood in contrast to the beautifully intricate fabrics the Mulleavys worked with this season.

A sense of ease and lightness was achieved on an entirely hand knit purple gown with long sleeves and a contrasting orange trim on the hem and cuffs. The yarn was made from a material “that almost looks like saran wrap,” said Kate Mulleavy. “It’s so soft,” added Laura. “No one believes it will be, and that’s what’s so cool about it. It’s very shiny.” They used the same fabric to create little skirt suits worn with matching cropped tops; one in shades of green, and another in orange and pink. The concept of light—both in terms of weight and illumination—played an important role in the collection. Metallic details abounded in fabric construction and embellishments, bringing into play the light that surrounds the garment as an added accessory. “All of the materials are in some way reflective of light. Even the lace has a sheen on it,” Laura said. “So what’s interesting is that you see them differently depending on the angle at which you are looking at them.” This were manifested in straightforward ways, as in some of the looks in the second half of the collection: holographic sequins on an architecturally draped asymmetric gown; silver sequins on a spaghetti strap tunic and flared trousers; silver fringe on a Nick Cave-esque (the fine artist, not the musician) long sleeve cropped top and matching trousers; and gowns with mosaics made from small mirror shards.

Even tweed, which the sisters call “something you see in real life,” was injected with their explosion of fantasy. “These are all really beautiful couture tweets that have about eight or nine yarns woven into them and different layers of metallics,” Laura explained. A slip dress in a metallic fil coupe floral fabric with black lace details seemed to have an otherworldly glow in one look. Meanwhile, the same fabric, done in a 1970s criss-cross bodice style, caught the light in the way only a dress made for disco dancing can. Its synthetic qualities were exactly what made it special. Even lace, a standard in the Rodarte repertoire, got the metallic treatment in its subtle corded detail. These were dresses begging to be worn on red carpets and bombarded with bright flashes, or to stand under a singular spotlight and command all the attention in a room.

“We’re starting to see the red carpets open back up again,” said Laura. “I feel like there’s no version of us as designers at Rodarte if there never was a red carpet. We’re in Los Angeles, and it’s one of the thrilling aspects of designing eveningwear. If you design a gown, you want to see it out there, that’s the beauty of it.” But the Mulleavys know that the magic of their clothes is that they can impart that same feeling to anyone that wears them, no matter the place. “I want someone that wears our slip dress with a pair of boots or tennis shoes to go meet a friend for lunch… I want them to have the same moment as someone that might be wearing the most complex gown that took us six months to get ready for a red carpet,” said Laura. And the Mulleavys always deliver.

Spring 2023 Ready-to-Wear

Spring 2023 Ready-to-Wear

Spring 2023 Ready-to-Wear

Spring 2023 Ready-to-Wear

Spring 2023 Ready-to-Wear

Spring 2023 Ready-to-Wear