View the full collection in our Photo Gallery.
story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Adrianna Favero
A designer once told me that when she was struggling and poor she would occasionally have to choose between fabric and food. Fabric, of course, always won out. Although I didn’t ask her, I get the feeling that Rachel Roy would have answered that question the same way.
“Everything starts with the fabric, including colors, but for me fabric always trumps. What I mean by that is, if there is a fabric that is a tactile inspiration and its perfect, but it doesn’t come in the color that fits with the collection’s inspiration, it’s out of there, because that’s what you’ll actually be wearing.” It’s the last bit that marks Mrs. Roy as a serious designer, because she knows it begins and ends with the woman who wears your clothes.
For Spring 2012, Mrs. Roy’s clients will have a lot of lovely pieces to choose from. At the risk of sounding like a soda commercial, the collection was light, crisp, and refreshing. One of things that elevates Rachel Roy’s work is her imaginative attention to detail. She seems propelled to create exciting decorative touches that do not distract from the impact of the fashion at all, but rather accent and add to the interest that the clothes generate. It is an area in which she excels and rarely if ever missteps, and this season was no different.
The Rachel Roy collection for Spring 2012 was a delightful mix of soft pastels, black and whites, and florals. All of the pieces had an intricate delicacy to them that was perfectly matched to the relaxed sense that the clothes exuded. Although the collection was primarily daywear, even those pieces had a formality, because of the level of sophisticated techniques that went into their construction. These are clothes for the woman who is elegant, relaxed and confident. And of course, one of the rarely discussed things about great fashion is its transformational power. If you were not calm cool and collected before, wearing Rachel Roy will help you get there.
