July 3, 2017 |
Rodarte showing during Haute Couture week in Paris makes total sense. Their clothes always have that next level quality to them – this feeling that the Mulleavy sisters pore over every bead and stitch and lacy layer and then start all over again. The kind of clothes to be called “creations”, rather than just clothes and probably just as close to couture as you’re going to get without being, well, couture. And very very expensive too.
Today, it was the sisters’ first show in the city and in celebration the sisters delivered us up a garden of ladies. A garden of ladies, in a garden. Like children of the corn, but with women, and flowers. We’ll call it mass foliage. Baby’s breath woven into the model’s hair, or balancing in jewellery that were a bit like body vases. One girl had loads of baby’s breath around her head, like a big flower hood. Some dragged big bunches of it on the floor behind them, others carried birds of paradise stems in lieu of bags. So you get the point. Flowers were the take home. Sure there was a deep meaning from this but I’m just going to say: pretty. Very pretty.
But I also want to say this was about ruffles. Big old style ruffles, part flamenco, part prom dress circa 1986, and all in all, wholly brilliant. It made the collection still feel American, evoking Pasadena and New Mexico, even though we were very far away from those. American too were the touches of cowgirl leather, accessorised with bows that tied around the model’s revealed midriffs. And the music – country and western meets choral. It felt like all those touches of their home country were important. The Mulleavy sisters’ work always works best when it evokes America – here they looked back wistfully, but in Paris looked right at home.
Photographs Jason Lloyd-Evans
