Blood, Lust, and Innocence Embodied in Rodarte's A/W 2020 Collection

When the word “vampire” pops up, quite a few things come to mind. Dark and stormy nights in gothic mansions, bats, blood, Dracula. You can get a whole story from just those words but there’s one pretty important piece missing: the lovely prey, duh. 

Laura and Kate Mulleavy decided it was time to add another contribution to the vampire collection, and this time it wouldn’t feature the count. In St. Bartholomew’s church, the gothic scene was set for Dracula’s prey to strut their stuff and tell their story. 

The first few girls who came out didn’t read goth at all. Polka-dot dresses, draped blouses, and 40’s inspired silhouettes were the first to emerge. But the Mulleavys were just getting started, and things took a turn for the dark. A flowing black hooded cape, cobweb embellishments and a sea of blood red fabric, the models marched on in gothic pride. And as quickly as the dark fabrics flowed out onto the runway, they were swept up by long silk gowns in bright florals to end the show. 

Young, Delicate, and Pretty

You begin every vampire story with the sweet, innocent prey. 

Out for Blood

But in this story, the girl doesn’t die. Instead, she gets transformed into a (hot) vampire herself.

Nightmare Dressed as a Daydream

The newly made vampires then gets ready to lure in her own victims, in long silk gowns that are stunning and will totally distract from her sharp fangs. 

From beginning to end, it was witnessing prey turn into the predator. We could always do with a little less helpless maiden and more femme fatale. 

cover image via Footwear News