NYFW: Rodarte F/W 2013

Upon first glance, I couldn’t decide how I felt about Rodarte’s Fall/Winter 2013 collection. I mean, tie-dye and roses aren’t exactly a typical combination. However, after flipping back through all the photos from the show, I realized that I had grown to really love it. Why? Well, that one’s easy: Because this collection is different. That’s the thing I love most about, Rodarte, I suppose—the fact that, season after season, the Mulleavy sisters find a way to surprise me.

The Fall/Winter 2013 collection as a whole is not exactly practical—for example, I can’t imagine wearing those flowy, sheer, bias-cut dresses during the harsh East Coast winter—but what it lacks in pragmatism it makes up for in quirky, cool originality. The most buzzed-about pieces from the collection are the flowing evening gowns in tie-dyed silk patterns, and it’s easy to see why: Like I said before, tie-dye and roses make an unlikely pair, but the Mulleavy sisters make what would normally be an awkward combination work by letting the two flow into each in a natural, organic way—like the sea coming up to meet the shore. There are some pieces that are amazingly wearable though, like the voluminous leather jackets and the high-cut body suits that will show just a hint of skin above a pair of low-slung trousers.