Bode’s sprawling spring collection picked up where Emily Adams Bode Aujla left off in Paris in January, seeking inspiration in the Crane Estate, the residence in Massachusetts owned by an eccentric 90-year-old woman where her mother worked back in 1976. Beginning with her pre-fall 2022, which was inspired by her own wedding, Bode Aujla has been exploring novel ideas in eveningwear. “It’s something that I’ve become quite passionate about because it’s really picked up for us,” she said during a recent appointment at her Brooklyn studio.
It’s evident in menswear pieces like the translucent-and-black all-over-sequin-embellished jacket, the navy blue suit with goldenrod crochet embroidery, and the white suit worn with a gorgeous blue and white striped pajama top with frog closures (you can also get the matching pants). It’s also apparent in pieces from her nascent womenswear line, like the sheer green dropped-waist dress studded with seed beads and the cream brocade midi-length jacket with three oversized satin bows for a closure. She called it a wedding jacket. “I love this idea,” Bode Aujla said. “I didn’t get to wear a vintage jacket like this for my wedding, but I thought that’s what I would wear. In my head, after the ceremony, this is what you put on; or maybe it’s worn at the courthouse wedding.” She continued, “Or you could wear this with black tuxedo trousers and have a really elevated evening look that’s not a dress. I could easily put that in men’s, but I think I wanted this and I think our girl wants this.”
Although women have been buying and wearing Bode since the beginning, womenswear officially debuted last season in Paris. Those who expected it to look exactly like the menswear but with a slightly different fit were in for a surprise; the range is decidedly sexy. This came across in the knit panties and matching T-shirts, tanks, and bralettes; in dusty blue crochet dresses (modeled in the look book with nothing underneath and matching thigh high stockings), and in the thin-as-air fish-print printed caftans (yes, a caftan can be sexy!). The designer laughed, “People commented about this on our runway show too. A lot of people expected it to be one way, and it’s like, the Bode woman compliments the Bode guy, she is not the Bode guy.” Embellished cropped tops, like the one made from pleated and folded orange fabric in the shape of a vintage-looking bow, or another one in red decorated with hanging beadwork taken from “a window valance,” are a little weird, but with their own allure.
Meanwhile, the news for men this season is the official debut of the Bode jean. Well, sort of. “We had done jeans before, but we had done them as tailored trousers,” she explained. “This is a much more relaxed painter’s-style pant.” Of course it wouldn’t be Bode if it didn’t have a little something extra, and so the jeans have stitching details at the waistband and a Bode signature patch on the coin pocket.
Knitwear continues to be one of Bode’s strongest categories, and for spring there’s a cardigan with a barely-there pink print reminiscent of fading wallpaper or an antique tablecloth found deep in the recesses of an attic; its subtle use of color gave it the feeling of a delicate heirloom about to disintegrate to the hands of time. Elsewhere, a novelty cream cardigan with textured kittens on the front gave a feeling of nonchalance to the maroon plaid suit it was worn with.
Outerwear was a real standout in this collection, whether in the form of an olive green heavy suede jacket with a hood (destined to age better than fine wine), or a yellow canvas-style part chore jacket, part varsity jacket that has the feel of something that’s been around forever without looking faux-distressed. “I think we’re getting better and better at this kind of product, whereas in the early days of Bode it would’ve felt too flat,” the designer said. “But now that we have a couple of years of experience, and have been working with our factories and our mills [for a long time], we’re getting better at it, and we feel more confident in our offering too.”
