NY Fashion Week: Rodarte Stuns with Dark, Gothic Glamour

Models present a creation from the Rodarte Fall/Winter 2023 collection during New York Fashion Week in New York City, US, February 10, 2023. (Reuters)
Models present a creation from the Rodarte Fall/Winter 2023 collection during New York Fashion Week in New York City, US, February 10, 2023. (Reuters)
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NY Fashion Week: Rodarte Stuns with Dark, Gothic Glamour

Models present a creation from the Rodarte Fall/Winter 2023 collection during New York Fashion Week in New York City, US, February 10, 2023. (Reuters)
Models present a creation from the Rodarte Fall/Winter 2023 collection during New York Fashion Week in New York City, US, February 10, 2023. (Reuters)

Rodarte brought dark, gothic glamour and opulence to New York Fashion Week on Friday with a shimmering show that transported the audience to a majestic Celtic fairytale land with a dark twist.

The grandiose show held at the Williamsburg Savings Bank featured dining tables decorated with silver candelabras and brimming with food and fruits covered in silver sparkles, lending a feel of performance art to the fall/winter collection display.

Rodarte sister-duo designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy, who worked on the tutus for 2010's "Black Swan," seemingly pulled inspiration from the film again. Rodarte's line illustrated that the "balletcore" style trend may be headed down a darker path this year.

Models wore heavy, winged black eyeliner and black lipstick, matching their black gowns with long and pointy sleeves that draped to the floor for a dark fairy look.

In signature Rodarte fashion, buttery satin, ruffles, ribbons and lace were heavily present throughout some of the most visually pleasing gowns with simple silhouettes and puffy, broad shoulders and structuring. Some models wore capes and held grand bouquets of tulips.

"Winter" by Tori Amos set the haunting atmosphere as the gowns grew increasingly more avant-garde with hues of yellow, green and purple. A handful of models wore oversized black, blue and purple colored bonnets and veils like Tim Burton characters.

Celebrities such as Lana Condor, Brie Larson, Quinta Brunson, Maddie Ziegler and Rachel Zoe were in attendance Friday afternoon. Sitting front row was Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, who wore her sunglasses inside the dimly lit bank.

The forest-themed show also had models wearing silver fairy ears, crowns, and elaborate headpieces to add to the storytelling of the night.

Some of the most eye-catching looks of the afternoon were sported by four models who were draped in full- to medium-length colorful and iridescent tinsel gowns. Toward the end of the show, each model stood in the center of the sparkly tables for a moment of appreciation.

A weighted and structured golden tinsel dress that trailed about 20 feet (6 meters) behind its model closed out the wistful and folkloric show.



Kering Appoints Demna as Artistic Director of Gucci

A Gucci shop is seen at the Jiangbei international airport in southwestern China's Chongqing on March 6, 2025. (AFP)
A Gucci shop is seen at the Jiangbei international airport in southwestern China's Chongqing on March 6, 2025. (AFP)
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Kering Appoints Demna as Artistic Director of Gucci

A Gucci shop is seen at the Jiangbei international airport in southwestern China's Chongqing on March 6, 2025. (AFP)
A Gucci shop is seen at the Jiangbei international airport in southwestern China's Chongqing on March 6, 2025. (AFP)

Italian luxury brand Gucci has appointed Demna as its artistic director, owner Kering said on Thursday, in a much-awaited move to revitalize the struggling label.

The appointment comes after Gucci - once one of the industry's biggest success stories - has suffered a prolonged sales decline, with revenues down 24% in the fourth quarter of 2024. The label's former design chief Sabato De Sarno left in February.

Georgian fashion designer Demna has been the artistic director of Kering's Balenciaga since 2015, and will take up his new role in July, Kering said.

The designer faced criticism in 2022 over a controversial Balenciaga ad campaign with images involving children, which he later said was the "wrong artistic choice".

In a statement, François-Henri Pinault, Kering CEO and chairman, said: "His creative power is exactly what Gucci needs."

Analysts have been impatient for the company to fill the role, with Luca Solca of Bernstein saying that Gucci, which generates nearly half of group sales and two-thirds of operating profit, needed a "heavyweight" chief designer to regain much-needed momentum.