Haute Couture Melting Pot
Review of RVDK Ronald Van Der Kemp Fall 2024 Fashion Show
By Mark Wittmer
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Theatricality. Art-deco opulence. Manhattan remade.
Ronald van der Kemp has been disrupting the fashion status quo for a decade: his radically sustainable approach to crafting couture collections entirely through already-existing materials challenged fashion’s problems of excess manufacturing and overconsumption before “upcycling” was a buzzword, while his focus on craft over spectacle continues to set him apart – especially this season.
Though this was his first runway show in New York, it formed a homecoming of sorts, as the designer got his start at Bill Blass. Now he celebrates the melting pot of America as only he can, transforming what others might see as trash into one-of-a-kind fashion treasures.
Fittingly, the first look featured a dramatically draped American flag, while the model carried a Bluetooth speaker blasting some patriotic 80s rock. When she stepped off the runway, the soundtrack went with her, and, except for when another model carried a speaker later on, the rest of the show ensued in silence. This stark, almost John Cage-esque staging choice meant it was just the audience and the collection. Luckily, there was plenty to take in. Fabric castoffs were architecturally reworked to make their wearers tower like opulent art-deco skyscrapers, PET bottles were unrecognizable as twisting jeweled embellishments. A reimagined lady liberty made an appearance, but the collection evoked just as much the city’s bygone underground cabaret culture – both the socialites who escaped to it and the starving artists who made the Chelsea flea market their runway.
THE DIRECTION
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THE QUOTE
I started in New York at Bill Blass and at Barneys, and I met all these great socialites, these people who understood the real craftsmanship of fashion. The tenth anniversary is a great time to bring it to New York and spread my message about a new ethics for design – how important it is to do things real.”
THE WRAP UP
RVDK is as real as they get, and his latest collection was another exercise in recycling realness – this time, given a reflective spin on the past and present of America, and ultimately creating a feeling of optimism. Drawing on true creativity, the waste of the past can be crafted into a sparkling new future.
