Rodarte puts into very clear focus fashions inspired by a hazy place

Rodarte finds strong visuals in a hazy place

NEW YORK — The bittersweet drama that played out on the Rodarte runway Tuesday reminded fashion insiders why Kate and Laura Mulleavy have become such a big deal in such a short time.

The theme of their collection was the hazy state of consciousness that comes between sleep and being awake. Lovely, lace-draped dresses in a light, almost dusty palette captured the feeling of vintage lingerie and wallpaper prints but there was something weighing on them, too — a seriousness, a respect.

The chunky knits, sometimes with yarn fringe, were just on the right side of looking well loved and worn in, yet luxurious in a way that a designer collection demands.

In a statement, the Mulleavys said they had become interested in a small town on the Mexican-American border that has rich visuals they mined for inspiration, from a broken-down pickup truck on the side of the road to local factory workers.

They were struck by the area’s “haunted, hazy, melancholy” vibe. They thought about the workers who’d pull the late-night shift and how they’d walk to work half asleep.

“The idea of dreaming/sleepwalking guided the development of the collection in that we imagined a girl dressing herself haphazardly in the dark of night and focused on building garments with both long and short components,” the sisters explained.

The layers that have been so popular at New York Fashion Week were certainly on this catwalk in a Chelsea artist space, but the Mulleavys had a lighter touch because of their airy fabrics and loose-weave knits.

“The draped dresses in gauze and lace were spectacular,” said Ikram Goldman, the Chicago retailer who advises first lady Michelle Obama on her wardrobe. “The way they were manipulated and draped to perfection on the body. … They were beautiful. They were perfect.”

The California-based Mulleavys, who won the Council of Fashion Designers of America award last year for top womenswear designers, draw fashion’s A-list to their shows, but they’re not players seeking the limelight: They barely peek their heads out from behind the curtain for their bows.

Instead, they focus all the attention showered on them onto the clothes.