Kate and Laura Mulleavy are clearly avid cinema goers. As well as designing costumes for Black Swan, the sisters have previously leant upon Days of Heaven and The Wizard of Oz for creative stimulation; exciting an otherworldliness which comes to life in their collections. This might partly explain why George Lucas sat smiling on the front row. Rodarte for Star Wars?
For the past few years, the designers have effectively portrayed the desolate beauty of the great American plains. But this season the girls upped sticks and left their home turf for a land down under.
Australia; part Baz Lurhmann, part Colonial era and part aboriginal prints motivated a dreamy collection inspired by various chapters in the history of what is a relatively new country. Combining native and colonial contexts, the girls explored the vast landscape, the Victorian architecture and indigenous art that defines the nation. "We have been looking at the history of the building of Australia. The layers and layers of it we found in Victorian photographs, all the way through to the late thirties. "
It was a step forward for the label which has struggled to set itself on a firm commercial path. Double breasted shearling jackets, cargo pants and cropped knitted jumpers determined a new found emphasis on separates - wearable separates.
But the romance certainly wasn't dead. Silk ruffles and tiered tea dresses were charming. 1940s tailoring and lace guipure blouses were sophisticated. Gently tousled hair and autumnal make-up was soothing. In its entirety, the collection was demure and ladylike but still maintained the dream-like astral virtue which characterises Rodarte.
Her habitat may have changed but the Rodarte Girl is still the same one; a stargazer, enamoured with her surroundings but in leather and bold cave prints she's a survivor. And now thanks to a more commercial aesthetic, she can live in the real world.
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