It has been seven years since Carin Rodebjer arrived in New York, the city where the Swede founded her label, and many memories come back. “I started sewing, and people would stop me on the street and say, ‘Can I get that for my store?’ The journey the brand has had, from those baby steps to now,” she says. “It’s a lot bigger now, completely different, but still the same. In a way, it’s a very sweet story.”
You can always count on the Rodebjer collection to cut Combine that with boho — the designer wrote in her notes that hippie ideals are at the heart of the label — and some kind of artistic reference. For fall, she collaborated with Swedish artist Carl Johan de Geer, who, she explained, chose an artistic life over an aristocratic one. One of his designs is an abstract flower dating back to the 60’s that has been used for a variety of purposes. “I wanted to make a raincoat that would make you happy when it rains,” Rodebjer said of the rain poncho. It is also used in knitwear, patterned stockings and embroidery. De Geer’s photographic style even set the direction for the lookbook. It’s great to see collaborations like this develop in a concrete and explanatory way. Rodebjer recently returned to Sweden, and this collection was a response to the minimalism that prevails in her home country. Maybe Swedish fashion would be like this part of the collection if the 60 and 70 vibrant local art scene didn’t fade to gray.
The designer grew up on a horse farm, and the collection has a non-literal Western element; jeans, a waxed coat with a scarf, topstitched shoes and a boiled wool jacket with leather pockets . Rodebjer also explored business attire: an elegant Prince of Wales coat with scarf, and the return of dress suits. These are just some of the many subgroups in the collection. It’s a mix of narratives that fit Rodebjer’s experiences and brand, but it’s easy to lose the plot with so much going on.
