Looking into Designers: Rodarte

Rodarte is a high-end fashion brand known for its use of pastels, ruffles and texturing to make the clothing more feminine. They focus on the more painterly style with mixed connotations from the 80's shoulder pads to french Victorian ruffles. By adding new aspects to these moments in history, Rodarte can make a unique style that is craved by celebrities and other designers alike.

The brand first came out in 2005, when according to Nicole Phelps (for Vogue), the designers had a "lack of professional design training." Looking into how it compares to the work they are now producing, there are elements of the now flamboyant style in the early work. Its interesting to see the comparison of the they're work then and now as they both follow a similar format (use of texture and mixed media) but the way they have evolved in the past few years seems to be the biggest achievement for the brand.

Looking at what the brand now produces, its clear to see that change in how much time and money they spend on each garment compared to 2005. For example, the recent Spring 2020 ready-to-wear collection had elements of that Victorian ruffle, but now with an editorial flare that wasn't seen before in the collections. With this collection, I found that most of it had connotations towards the 1980's, using big shoulder pads and that same colour scheme and satin.

Its interesting to see the way Rodarte has changed over the years, from being a brand focused on simplicity and neutral colours to now being a flamboyant and extravagant brand. The way the designers have been able to adapt to the new media and trends that have been producing each year, even creating the trends themselves, shows the brand has found its niche and keeps to this with every new collection.