Rodarte
NEW YORK, February 17, 2009
By Laird Borrelli-Persson
"They are unique," said Kirsten Dunst of Kate and Laura Mulleavy, front-row at their show today. "They didn't just study fashion. You can see that. It's very emotional clothing."Certainly the intuitive Pasadena-based sister act continues to bring a frisson of excitement to New York fashion week. Their clothes generate strong reactions—positive, more often than not. Backstage, editors were effusive in praise of the collection's mix of Balenciaga-like futurism and off-kilter romance. The Mulleavys wisely moved away from the Japanese and robotic references this season and toward something more organic: metal, wood, and stone. "We were interested in the building and taking apart of homes," Laura explained. "And then an image of Boris Karloff as Frankenstein magically popped into our minds." Thus anime made way for…yes, monsters.
The Mulleavys' main conceit was marbling. Pale leathers and silk chiffons were printed or silk-screened to resemble veined gray stone, then cut up Edward Scissorhands-style, collaged onto skirts and minidresses—like Frankenstein's skin was pieced together—and worn with fierce hip boots by Nicholas Kirkwood. "Like straitjackets" is how Laura described some of the bondage-y leathers. When it came to knits, the sisters swept away the cobwebs to make room for denser, shaggy cardigans and thick cowls.
If the unvarying silhouette (high hem, high boots) was a bit relentless, each number was worked in such an individual way that it looked handmade. What the show lacked in breadth, it made up for in singularity.
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Fall 2009 Ready-to-Wear
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Gap Gareth Pugh Giambattista Valli Gianfranco Ferré Giles Giorgio Armani Givenchy Graeme Black G-Star Gucci -
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Haider Ackermann Halston Helmut Lang Hermès Hervé Léger by Max Azria House of Holland Hussein Chalayan Hutson -
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Kai Kühne Karen Walker Karl Lagerfeld Katy Rodriguez Kenzo Kinder Aggugini Koi Suwannagate Kris Van Assche -
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Ohne Titel Organic by John Patrick Oscar de la Renta Ossie Clark -
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