Raquel Rodriguez
Biography:
Raquel Rodriguez is a Melbourne-based designer who creates extravagant and eye-catching garments using a combination of innovative and traditional techniques. In her most recent collections, she combines unlikely textiles and crafts to produce inflatable latex accessories that exaggerate and transform the silhouettes of her garments. The garments themselves take on silhouettes that are often oversized and voluminous. Raquel uses fashion influences from decades past combined with a penchant for anomaly, building an unlikely story around each piece. Each item is designed to create beautiful yet daring, items of clothing.
Design Statement:
"SURREALIA" is Fantasy, Ephemerality, and Performance. Inspired by the Surrealist movement and the femme fatale archetype, the resulting collection is an imaginative, larger than life presentation that conflates traditional femininity with hallmarks of surrealism. Latex inflatables adorn the garments, reflecting notions of exaggeration and artificiality that are present in Surrealism. They draw attention and create a sense of theatricality. The silhouette of ‘SURREALIA’ is oversized, voluminous, and soft, made in a unique bonded thick scuba.
