First Impressions: Rodarte

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Last February, the designers behind young label Rodarte, sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy, won plaudits for their webby, loose-woven tights—legware that was soon DIY'd by many an intrepid fashion follower. This time around, the duo showed a more futuristic collection. Here's what the critics thought:

1.) LA Times: "They may not be couturiers in name, but sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy from Pasadena might as well be, considering the extraordinary handiwork that goes into each and every piece in their Rodarte collections. Their fall show, ostensibly inspired by the work of photographer Ari Marcopoulos (copies of his moody black-and-whites were included with the show notes), was even more complex and textural than what they have done before...The clothes reminded me of the Bay Area Art to Wear movement -- collage mini-dresses and reworked biker jackets in a patchwork of marbled leather, metallic linen, cotton tulle, marled wool and crystal netting, each one a technical marvel that left me longing for a closer look."

2.) AP: "If Mad Max went to outer space, he might wear Rodarte....Sleek dresses, most in silver with a few hints of color, were made from layered patchworks of leather, tulle, lace, lame, chiffon and even crystals. The designers fell in love with marbled leather, using it for more than half their looks. Their best were strappy, buckled-leather jackets that went with the tough, thigh-high boots the designers paired with each outfit. With expressionless models wearing washed-out makeup and slicked-back buns, the effect was something like glambots arriving on a moonscape after a rocky journey."

3.) NY Daily News: "For Fall 2009 the Mulleavy sisters transported us to a world of beautiful fembots bound in thigh high leather boots - and cropped jackets with straps and buckles - wearing structured mini dresses made from swaths and strips of interwoven fabrics. A few were, of course, bundled in their signature spiderwebby knits."