Other stories are told
While Los Angeles’ varied fashion week organizers made their way to the starting gate for a run of shows, hometown brand Rodarte was busy celebrating its recent collaboration with Swedish label & Other Stories during a downtown L. A. dinner party attended by a fashion- show front row’s worth of celebrities, including Katy Perry, Dakota Fanning, Zoey Deutch, Bella Heathcote and Riley Keough.
Held int heart-filled Lincoln Heights apartment of artist Elliott Hundley, a longtime friend of Rodarte sister- designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the March 14 dinner’s other guests included Catherine Opie, Gia Coppola, Langley Fox, Kim Gordon, Vogue magazine’s West Coast Editor Lisa Love and Vanity Fair magazine’s West Coast Editor Krista Smith as well as designers and a handful of others from the 3- year-old H& M Group- owned & Other Stories brand. ( Yes, the brand’s full — and sometimes confusing — name includes the ampersand.)
“We’ve collaborated with West Coast brands in the past, including Clare Vivier — twice,” said & Other Stories public relations manager Elke Kieft, “and Rodarte has always been high on our list. We’ve been working on making this happen for the last year and a half.”
The result of those efforts is a range of women’s apparel, jewelry and shoes with a through line of texture ( think suede, ribbed knits, silk and crushed velvet) and sparkles of light ( thanks to crystals, rhinestones, metallic leathers and Lurex knits), some 49 pieces in all.
The ready- to- wear prices range from $ 65 for chiffon tops and crushed velvet shorts to $ 325 for a sequined dress. Shoe offerings include sparkly leather sandals ($ 175) and patchwork- patterned metallic leather and suede boots ($ 425). The jewelry, themed around the kind of heart and star shapes one might f ind in a bowl of Lucky Charms, goes from $ 29 rings and earrings to $ 60 necklaces.
Many of the notable names in attendance were wearing pieces from the collection, including dinner co- host Fanning, who wore a black merino wool dress sprinkled with rhinestones; actress Keough, who paired a pajama- inspired silk top with red, crushed velvet shorts; actress Heathcote, who went with one of the patchwork leather skirts; and Finnish model Suvi Koponen, who opted for a striped, long- sleeved Lurex sweater.
Soon, collaborative collections such as the ones with Rodarte and Clare Vivier may not be the only SoCal connection for the label, because, according to Kieft, design ateliers in Paris and Stockholm may soon be joined by one in the City of Angels. There are also rumors that a SoCal & Other Stories retail store could be in the works for the fall. For now, the label’s physical presence in the United States is limited to two New York stores, and it’s through the & Other Stories stores and Stories . com that the Rodarte & Other Stories collection launched in March.