Vogue|Vintage: Rodarte's Spring 09 Collection's Earth Link

Rodarte’s Spring 09 line sought to create a tenuous link between the ancient Greek Gods and renowned Earth artist, Robert Smithson. 

There appears to be some parallels which can be drawn between the art of the ancient Greeks and Smithson’s work. 

 In the late 60s, Smithson became fascinated by the sight of dump trucks excavating tons of earth and rock which he attributed as equivalent to the excavation of monuments of antiquity.

                                                                                             Enantiomorphic Chambers

                                                                                                                Four-sided Vortex

                                                                                  Heap of Language 
Smithson has sought to both connect our conception of Earth as well as evoke questioning and establish a dialogue regarding the physical impact of our presence on the landscape.

This line of questioning is not so different from those posed by the ancient Greek scholars and philosophers.  

Presocratic thought sought to replace mythological explanations with reasoned discourse.  Typical arguments centered around existence, where it comes from, how it exists, and the dialectic between an immutable and a dynamic Earth.  Heraclitus postulated that the only thing that does not change and perish is change itself.

                                                                                                                      Displacement

                                                                                                                             Spiral Jetty

The ancient Greek's had a preoccupation with the human form and thus, clothing was draped and pinned to accentuate the body.  As well as white, popular colors included violet, green, and grey.

                                                                  replications of ancient Greek pins known as fibulas.

There is no question surrounding the dynamic nature of fashion, fashion seeks to replicate and redefine existing norms of beauty season after season. 

Rodarte’s gorgeous dyed Grecian-inspired designs seemed to reaffirm fashion’s ability to refute immutability while at the same time drawing its influences from the remnants of fashion history.

The overall palette reminds one of the hues and tints of Earth, the violet and orange on display in a setting sun, the blue and white of the ocean’s crest, and the nude, soft tans of an unspoiled beach.

Rodarte has traded urban gold chains for the ancient Greek fibula, almost, as a sly statement to the influence of urban development and decay on our changing landscape.

The flow and drape of the gowns reminds one of the ebb and flow of the sea, the pull of the moon, and the undeniable force of gravity.

We are, after all, truly creatures of Mother Earth; subjects to her whims and fancies.

                                                                                    Rodarte Spring 09

Vogue vintage pieces allows us to celebrate our awareness of fashion’s continuity despite its many changing faces as well as reminds us of the historical and primal connections that can occur between wearer and dress.

a.) 1960s orange chiffon dress b.) i. magnin dress and coat c.) 1950s satin gown d.) 1950s floral dress

Woodland Farms Vintage