I am wearing 1960s Couture Pierre Cardin dress with my Alexander McQueen clutch I wear to death
and my fave Charlotte Olympia Pom Pom Platforms from The Room
Yes, that is actually me pictured above on the right in this photo that ran on the Flare was There coverage of the event. I headed down to The Room Wednesday night with Anita Clarke, my gorgeous friend and girl behind the uber blog — I Want, I Got — a daily must read if you need to know what is happening in shopping, fashion and Toronto. FLARE's Truc Nguyen is the beauty on the left. I love that we all have bright pops of color on don't you? When this color thing goes away I am going to be devastated — or just stick out like a sore thumb — because I refuse to go back to go back to head to toe black, black, black, black!!
I have to be completely honest and tell you that although I do keep an eye on Rodarte and what they are doing, I have not made it a mission to see their clothes in real life before Wednesday. So before I headed down the The Bay, I thought it would only be fair to do a tad more research on the label and spent an hour or so perusing the net. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the sibling design duo are huge fabric junkies and are also big fans of vintage and especially the art of textiles. I also like that they repeatedly make a point of saying that they don't really care if you like what they do. My interest was instantly peaked and I was curious to see if the clothes would live up to these lofty ideals. It is not the first time I have heard a designer go on about how they are big on fabrics — yada yada yada — and then you see the actual clothes and it is all the same mass production made-in-you-know-where crap. Perhaps I am a little jaded, but you have to remember that I have racks and racks of some of the best clothes ever made IN THE WORLD sitting in front of me that I can compare new pieces to... ... so let's just concede that the the jaded parade will inevitably begin and the band strike up shall we?
Some young upstart design house has to represent to get my attention.
The verdict?
Gorgeous, unusual textiles cut and draped astonishingly well. I was pleasantly surprised. I went from one piece to another looking for cheap substitutions but it was not there. I feel that their strength lies in their use of the light silks and chiffon's, in the ability to mix custom screened, printed layers, onto fabrics with texture and design worked into that fabric. The gowns, the separates, the tightly tailored suits — all had an eye to detail and were interesting with quirky touches. Some of the heavier pieces felt — well, too heavy, and you get the feeling that those are included out of duty. It is really the working of the silk, knit and chiffon's that capture their love of what they do.
The pieces have hefty price tags but that is what you pay when you ask for custom, specialty textiles. Small runs, specialized fabrics, less and less textile houses that will produce the small runs all equal a hefty retail price. Always has, always will, unless the entire world goes to hell in a hand basket and it all becomes one large bundle of acrylic. Let's have a collective prayer that it does not shall we?
So fan?
Yes.
Impressed?
Yes
Future Vintage?
Thankfully — a Yes!
Rodarte Fall 2012 at The Room
Rodarte designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy 
A stunning Rodarte gown
My favorite piece - you can see that unlike some designers, their runway vision stays true through to production (below)
1st & 2nd Photo by Jason Hudson / The Room at The Bay,
other photos from the Back Seat Stylers ,
runway shot from style.com