Rodarte Spring Summer 2013

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Alexandra

I was surprised to find that most of this Rodarte collection was quite good-looking, although the brand has certainly not strayed from its signature of producing runway shows with a confusing mix of themes and little cohesion from one look to the next. The problem is, most of the pieces in this show appeared to be heavily inspired by recent Balenciaga and Prada. It is just all very confusing, what is Rodarte about? I have been trying to figure this out for years. Aside from the fact that they consistently produce AMAZING shoe collections, I really cannot put my finger on what the message is here, other than utter confusion, a mish mash of reference points, and ridiculous price tags. Anyone care to explain?

I love…

New York, catwalk, runway show, spring summer 2013, Rodarte

that Rodarte hsn’t opened their show with something ugly (even though this looks a bit like Balenciaga.)

New York, catwalk, runway show, spring summer 2013, Rodarte

a beautiful mix of gothic, baroque, and chainmail.

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armour-inspired sleeve details.

I loathe…

New York, catwalk, runway show, spring summer 2013, Rodarte

black patent lace up pants, on the Rodarte catwalk. Um, have the Mulleavy sisters lost their way?

New York, catwalk, runway show, spring summer 2013, Rodarte

pale yellow, red, and black combined on one outfit. Plus, this is bad Prada.

All images from Vogue.com.

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  • Dimitar

    I was asking myself the same question when I saw their collection – who are they, where are they? I have a theory about Rodarte that someone (let’s say a stylist) has recently started to advice them on what to do every season, because frankly – if you look through their first couple of seasons before Fall 2009 that made them famous, I would have never thought they would turn in this kind of label. I didn’t really think of this collection as Balenciaga at first, but Proenza Schouler instantly and after that Prada came to my mind as well.

  • alexandrasuhnerisenberg

    Yes, Proenza is definitely a key reference point. To be honest, I have never been a fan of what they have done, but it has always seemed very confused. You are right that recently it has changed, but for me, it has never been good, and it has never been strong in the sense of a strong brand. Plus, their price points are RIDICULOUS. Did you see this post I did, comparing their prices to other brands? http://searchingforstyle.com/2011/04/overrated-and-overpriced/