Bode founder Emily Adams Bode Aujla designed her first clothes for women (which will debut at the menswear show in Paris on Saturday), but this is the first time she designed clothes for women. Not the first time. Baudet’s brief but highly successful history student will note that during her studies, she simultaneously studied fashion at Parsons School of Design and Eugene Lang studied philosophy at her college. “On Fridays I would stay up late and make skirts out of crushed velvet or something,” recalls Emily. Creating women’s clothing, it seems, was not as difficult as a natural occurrence. “It just came so naturally to me that I wasn’t inspired by it.”
Other factors also guided her early direction. At Parsons, after one design assignment (“Astronaut?”), a professor suggested she had a talent for menswear. And there were general teachings about fashion (especially women’s fashion) of the time, which allowed an emphasis on design rather than material. I was fascinated by fabrics that were less inventive than they were. wear by a person or by many. “I was more obsessed,” she says.
All of this led to Emily creating Bode’s first fitted sample in 2016, reworking her favorite vintage quilted top into high-waisted pants that have become her game-changing trademark: ostensibly men’s clothing. led to the start of , practically on any body. In our overheated culture, Bode’s work stands out for its quiet politics, thrifting energy away from her shopping thrills, and taking charge of handcrafting in an overwhelmingly virtual world. Her first menswear show, held at a Tribeca loft, managed to evoke deep emotions and viscerally reflect the loss of an old family home. “My theory is that if you have an emotional connection to something, so do others,” she says.
Seven years later, she finally has the dresses, skirts, silk tops and her version of lingerie her fans have been waiting for. There’s everything from the form-fitting floor-length gowns that sparkle with emerald green sequins to the loose, light berry-printed chiffon dresses she wore at picnics this past summer. The cardigan is baudé-like with its quiet, intricate textures and patterns that look like something out of a 1970s movie. The colors are olive, brown and intense red. There is a bolero jacket, a blazer, and a black satin camisole with buttons and a fit. A beaded flower runs along the vine on a sheer dress. Bias-cut windowpane Her dress is accented with flounces and fringes. Like the Bode Men, it’s a great idea reimagined for the present, with fabrics that tell different stories of the past, rather than remaking old pieces.
LA-based singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams’ debut album, good riddance, will be released this month. When Bode asked her to sit down for the shoot, she was one of the first people to not only see but experience the new female line. “Emily’s work oozes with her confidence, security and serenity,” says Abrams, who was already a board fan. When the singer met the designer, Emily spoke not about fashion, but about her life. “She gave us history about the women in her family,” says Abrams. Then she tried on. “When I look at her clothes and feel, it’s really like her-When Get dressed, the woman I want to be.
Photo: Courtesy of Bode
