Rodebjer Stockholm Spring 2023 Collection

Carin Rodebjer is a fashion veteran who has opted out of the traditional runway format in order to explore new ways of working, communicating, and evolving the brand she founded in 2000 in New York. Now based in her native Sweden, Rodebjer’s focus for the last few seasons has been on finding ways to work more responsibly. “We have pushed this to where we’re about 75% better fabric choices,” she says when we meet in her showroom. “But most of all we want to do wearable, beautiful clothes.”

The key to understanding Rodebjer’s spring’s line-up isn’t a garment, but the brand’s new retro sneakers. The designer has been on the move, and all that action has given the collection an unexpected sporty feel. Nylon was a key material at the spring shows in Copenhagen, and Rodebjer has used it to make the requisite cargo/jogger of the season, as well as a blouse and coat with drawstrings at the waist and a pussy-bow at the neck. Other active touches included bike shorts and a hoodie with a crocheted varsity R and drawstrings. Crochet is also used for an openwork fringed top with a resort feeling, which also resurfaces in a print inspired by the work of the Italian artist Carla Accardi, done on terry.

Alongside these sun-infused and sporty pieces are the easy city staples Rodebjer is most known for, like a white pantsuit, oversize blazers to wear with bias-cut silks, a trench and miniskirt with ribbon-laced edges, and a smart jacquard logo coat. A pair of knitwear sets felt too retro, and seemed to exist in limbo between resort and sport without being either. There’s no connected narrative here, instead the line-up reads like a collection of postcards from various sun-lit get-aways.