Lela Rose has the following goal in life: “To give people clothing that they can see wearing in a lot of different ways—but they’re fully dressed,” she said. “I’m dedicated to always being dressed no matter where you are, no matter what you’re doing.”
This season, she was dressing people for a hypothetical outdoor dinner party. Rose loves to entertain al fresco (so much so that she has a Rizzoli book, Fresh Air Affairs) and wanted to make elegant outfits to do it in: A red gingham knit dress mimicked the pattern of a picnic, and a top had bold stripes akin to the rows of a freshly mowed lawn. Americana colors were mixed in with earthy hues—a palette Rose, who lives in Jackson Hole, believes mimics a Wyoming summer: “It’s the colors of living in the West,” she said.
Another motif for this collection was the tulip. Inspired by the floral still lifes of Dutch artist Leendert Blok, the tulip was a bold silhouette on a colorblocked dress and a subtle embroidery on a lace gown. A scarlet top, meanwhile, evoked the shape of petals.
Yet it’s not just the flowers seen in Dutch art that she was taken with. It was the whole ambience: “I love how in old Dutch paintings, ladies were dressed to the nines,” she said. And with this new collection of mostly formal looks, perhaps for Rose’s customers life will begin to imitate art.