New York Fashion Week spring 2014: Rodarte review
Between the spring 2014 collection Rodarte designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy showed Tuesday at New York Fashion Week, and Hedi Slimane’s “California Grunge” fall collection for Saint Laurent in stores now, Los Angeles seems to be the creative well of inspiration in fashion right now.
Both the Mulleavys and Slimane live in L.A., and are proving that there is more to style in our city than the beach and the red carpet. Car culture and slick Hollywood be damned, what’s inspiring these designers is the city’s seedy street culture, from the music clubs on the Sunset Strip to the strip clubs on Hollywood Boulevard.
The inspiration: Los Angeles, the Mulleavys said backstage. More than any specific location or reference, “the creativity and freedom” of the place, Laura Mulleavy said. This was the second of a two-part story about California, she said, which began with the fall 2014 collection that was inspired by Santa Cruz, where they grew up.
The look: Anything goes L.A., with nods to 80s and 90s punk and heavy metal (Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” was blaring at the end.)
Key pieces: White linen blazer over white bra top and long fringe skirt; denim short shorts with fringe trim at the legs, worn with a leopard brocade vest and baseball cap cocked to the side; plaid silk shirts worn with suspenders and leopard brocade kilt; black satin slip dress with embroidered crystal scorpion and fringed skirt.
The verdict: Full of contrasts, like the city itself. Tough but sweet, gaudy but glam. But more than anything else, cool.
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