RODEBJER AUTUMN/WINTER 2015-16 READY-TO-WEAR NEW YORK

Deep space seems to be trending right now, and the theme was witnessed obliquely in today’s rather psychedelic Rodebjer show. In the most immediate sense, designer Carin Rodebjer was riffing on the work of artists Alberto del Pozo and Mati Klarwein, but the collection’s deep blues, swirling and dotted prints, and emphasis on diaphanous scarf-cut silks and dévoré velvets all contributed to a vibe that was literally spacey.

Rodebjer didn’t get there right away; a few of the first looks out featured a Deco-ish embroidered mesh that was very cool in its own right, but came to seem a touch out of place. Where this strong collection really hit its stride was in the floating skirts and dresses, especially the skirts of découpé floral silk and the kaleidoscopic long dresses. Skintight jacquard layering pieces in the swirling prints were more matter-of-fact but likewise seemed untethered to gravity. Back on the ground, as it were, Rodebjer did well with her outerwear—shiny technical trenches and faux furs that looked, from afar, pretty darn vrai—and with the tailored pieces in a spatter-printed cotton jacquard.

It was nice to see the designer working with some crisp shapes; ironically, in a collection that was very much about movement, she discovered an opportunity to impose some discipline on her silhouettes. Even the floatiest of her looks had a specificity to the cut. Maybe that was Rodebjer’s Scandinavian side asserting itself. Whatever it was, the order and control here kept the collection as a whole from diverting into serious hippie-dippie territory. These were clothes for women with their feet on the ground and their heads in the sky.