You can't tell by the photo, but designer Carin Rodebjer is about five months pregnant, and she does preggers in an amazingly radiant and chic way. Although when we asked her about kiddie clothing, she was definitely 100% not interested in making a collection for children. Sugar and sweet just don't play a part in her vision—it would, she explained, be a betrayal to all the strong, sartorially wonderful women she has been inspired by since the brand's inception. British eccentric Nancy Cunard is Swedish designer's latest muse. An heiress, writer and political activist, Cunard grew up in a castle, but rejected her high society upbringing and instead heading to Paris to hang out with the dadaists and surrealists in the '20s instead. She became involved with civil rights and the anti-fascist movement in the US during the 1930s, after establishing her own publishing house. She published and edited "Negro" an anthology of black history and culture as a call to arms against racial discrimination. Unfortunately Cunard died—as most of these fabulous, rebellious women do—in almost complete obscurity. Her look was unmistakable: arms jangling with heavy bangles from wrist to elbow, she'd mix traditional English aristo tweeds with exotic leopard skin and might even top her outfit with a gorgeous towering headscarf.
Rodebjer references all these amazing textures for her Fall '09 collection—there are fluffy plaid mohair jackets with traditional gold buttons as well as a nod to the wilder side in the form of gauzy gold tunic dresses. Of course the Rodebjer classics are also in there, she'd been designing flawless coat dresses long before it was deemed a trend and a collection of hers rarely goes by without a sharply tailored shirt dress. We're hoping the next time we see Carin she'll bring the mini-Rodebjer with her, although we're not expecting him or her to be wearing anything remotely cutesy.