New York Fashion Week :: Carin Rodebjer [The ZOO]

New York Fashion Week :: Carin Rodebje

Carin Rodebjer :: Fall 2006

There have been more than a few exasperated sighs about "off-site" venues, and the Rodebjer installation located a good ten blocks away from those infamous tents was no exception. But these sighs were because the cocktails kept coming and the stylish attendees kept running into their friends. They were sighs of "Thank goodness." In place of the guilty pleasure celebrity gawking and fashionista bitching, there were fair-haired ladies with glowing skin and tiny braids scattered about their locks. Wow, they aren't joking about the Swedes. And those adorable accents! As I observed one of last year's Gen Art runway stars, Carin Rodebjer, send her models through a fashion performance art piece every twenty minutes sipping Swedish White Cosmopolitans and eating an occasional cashew, I couldn't help but think that this was the anti-runway of the week and I wasn't the least bit sorry.

With chandeliers made of iridescent shells and a yellow and black decor, Swedish Restaurant Aquavit was full of smiling faces, hot youngin's, and even an adorable little girl. The hair was pulled off to the side and back in immaculately clean buns. After seeing the glamour in the occasional haircut that was used, I wanted to wear one myself. With princess sleeves, baby doll cuts and lacy layers over traditional blouses, Rodebjer stuck true to what she promised: clothes she would want to wear. Rodebjer's clothes were picked up by retail after she was spotted wearing them on the sidewalks of Manhattan. She has come a long way from hand tailoring clothes in her Lower East Side Apartment, but the origin of that custom work is still evident.

A suit to remember: a baby doll collar black satin blazer with pencil pants. Miracle: stiletto height Wedge Heel Ankle Boots. A solution for those who want those calves without those wobbles. Take the Plunge: another loose and floor-length dress this week, but a deep neckline and skinny razorback that turns sexy into comfortable. Sentiments: Thank you Sweden! [Xenia Viray]