In 2018, RDC/AAL was commissioned to design Rodarte, the first ever fashion exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C, which took place between November 2018 and February 2019.

RDC/AAL placed the label’s designs in exquisite relief while powerfully infusing the museum space with Rodarte’s distinctive elan. The exhibition was spread out across eight galleries, each one a self-contained atmosphere with a distinctive design. The overall space was marked by a stark and subdued tone, with many of the label’s looks displayed on invisible supports against dark walls. This superficially austere setting, which cast the objects on display in sharp relief, bristled with a quiet dynamism. Myriad moments of subtle disorientation were achieved through surprising variations in spatial geometry, materials — with fabrics designed by Rodarte in collaboration with Knoll on prominent display — and more.

Against the exhibition’s hushed backdrop, Rodarte’s iconic looks — including the famous dress from Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, among many others — floated in space among brightly variegated mannequins, disembodied blazes of colored light, and creeping patches of flowers. These points of concentrated color and energy disrupted expectations of a neutral and homogenous gallery space while acting as tightly focussed glosses on Rodarte’s design motifs.