GIF: Marc by Marc Jacobs, Rodarte, Oscar de la Renta, s/s 2015 - Getty
A blacked-out venue with a neon light sculpture at its centre, rave music mixed with a Viennese waltz (so loud Suzy Menkes stuck her fingers in her ears), knotted mohawks in the girls’ hair, rubber stockings, occult symbols on the front of a dress and the words ‘NEW WORLD SYSTEM’ emblazoned on an oversized T-shirt. It goes without saying that ’s designers Luella Bartley and Katie Hillier’s follow-up to their debut collection was fiercely strong. Last season they punched a hole right through New York Fashion Week, letting in a real blast of fresh air; this time their rebel girl was looking to do the same.
Part-DIY punk, part-raver and possibly part-conspiracy theorist too, she stormed out in smudged latex dots, polyester lining for a skirt and flat rubber boots, carrying a moulded plastic bag (weapon?). The masc-fem thing was reiterated from last season – boysy one minute in oversized shirts, parkas and big pocket overalls, girly (though hardly sweet) the next in multiple layered asymmetric cupcake pleat skirts with sliced up and stitched back together sweatshirts. It was bold, but it was also muddled – much like inside the head of an angsty rebel teenager. Which is fine if you are an angsty teenager, but rather more difficult to swallow (and wear) if you’re not.
Image: Marc by Marc Jacobs, Oscar de la Renta, Rodarte, s/s 2015 - Getty
Oscar de la Renta does not cater to teenagers – angsty or otherwise. His was a typically serene and grown-up affair where the sight of a flat shoe worn with a black cocktail dress might be considered the height of rebelliousness by the Oscar faithfuls. Even so, this was more youthful than ever and it wasn’t just the flats injecting everything from powder-blue gingham tailoring to an ivory lace dress with fresh grace. Subtle tweaks in proportion and cut updated the Oscar classics, as well as judicious restraint when it came to decoration. Until the eveningwear section that is, when it became clear why there was a floral backdrop. But even when the embroidered blooms erupted all over pale, light-as-air-dresses, it looked sublimely modern.
While you know precisely what you’re going to get with Oscar de la Renta, the same cannot be said of the Mulleavy sisters, Kate and Laura. Their collections are deeply autobiographical, informed by a rich mosaic of memories that can take them off on any given tangent. So it would be interesting to know which flashback inspired Jamie Bochert’s fiercely styled opening look of white sheer frilled blouse, skintight white jeans and glossy black, over-the-knee, corset-laced, stockings-cum-boots. It all became clearer a few looks in – well, sort of – after a few skirts made with what looked like fishing net, some fantastic fishermen’s jackets with belt-buckled pockets – it was clear we were on a fishing trip! More than that, we were going into the ocean depths and finding dresses that looked like sea anemones, jellyfish, coral reef and shimmering fish scales.
Once your eye has adjusted to the Rodarte aesthetic – whimsical and laden with detail – it’s hard not to love what they do. Particularly when it looks as lovely as this.
