The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
NEW YORK, United States — Kate and Laura Mulleavy were meditating upon some obscure inspirations for their Spring/Summer 2017 collection, namely the bees buzzing around the new flower patch in their Pasadena backyard and an arthouse Spanish film from the 1970s entitled 'Spirit of the Beehive' about a little girl intrigued by Frankenstein (just like them).
Although bees are powerful heralds, they remained absent from the collection in any literal form. Instead, the Californian sisters wove its symbolism through swathes of honeycomb tulle, drifts of pollen-shaped embroideries, and a honey-toned colour palette warmed by pale purples and a single shot of bee-stung blood red.
Alongside the frothy, artisanal gowns with which Rodarte made their red carpet name, the sisters expanded upon the patchwork Mongolian furs and embellished biker leathers that have balanced the tougher side of their angelic bohemia of late. The best of those came festooned with mirrored studs and panels of laser-cut floral leather — a stifling proposition for Spring perhaps, but a pleasantly strange and brilliantly textured one.
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BoF editor-at-large Tim Blanks and Imran Amed, BoF founder and editor-in-chief, look back at the key moments of fashion month, from Seán McGirr’s debut at Alexander McQueen to Chemena Kamali’s first collection for Chloé.
Anthony Vaccarello staged a surprise show to launch a collection of gorgeously languid men’s tailoring, writes Tim Blanks.
BoF’s editors pick the best shows of the Autumn/Winter 2024 season.