Narciso Rodriguez was invited to design costumes for New York City Ballet’s fall gala. The project coincided with the early stages of Pre-Fall development, and working on the former influenced the latter, he explained at a showroom appointment today. Rodriguez had pictures of the ballerinas to show off, and making the connection between their costumes and his new collection was easy. A leotard color-blocked black and blush pink was transformed into one of his signature sleeveless sheaths—the graphic blocking having the same body-whittling effect on the dancer as it did on the model in the lookbook.
That leotard suggests he’d make a terrific swimwear designer if he ever put his mind to it. But this collection was about working women’s wardrobes, as most Rodriguez collections are. There were the aforementioned power sheaths and an appealing looser-fit dress with a drapey silhouette harnessed by a belted waist. There were new takes on the power suit; Rodriguez paired high-rise, slightly flared trousers with a bubble jacket in double-face cashmere or a popover top (silly name for a sophisticated shape). And because work doesn’t really end when the clock chimes 6:00 for Rodriguez’s clients, there was a wide array of cocktail and dinner dresses (one with a keyhole cutout at the neckline is the designer’s personal favorite), as well as alternative black-tie options. The red carpet may be the last bastion of floor-length dresses. He had a few of those for the likes of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Amy Schumer, and Julianna Margulies. For everybody else looking for special-occasion clothes, his short-in-front/long-in-back top and high-waisted flares are the modern option.
