Rodarte Shoes

Rodarte x Opening Ceremony Flower Booties, $528. Rodarte x Opening Ceremony Square Toe Pumps, $458. Both via ShopBop.

For fans of avant-garde fashion brand Rodarte, getting our hands on some of the goods can be difficult. Not only is Rodarte a tiny brand with intricate clothing, which makes its prices astronomical, but most of it is difficult to wear during anything but a runway show. That’s why the universe has blessed us with the current trend of designer collaborations, though – God loves us, and he wants as to have some Rodarte shoes.

Or, in this case, some Rodarte x Opening Ceremony shoes. These designs continue to play on the familiar references that are a Rodarte signature, but instead of unwearable Van Gogh dresses, we get a slice of vintage print. The prices are similarly disparate.

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Images via Vogue.com

Because Rodarte is all about very literal references, whether or not you like a particular body of work from the Mulleavy sisters often hinges on whether or not you like the reference they’ve chosen for the season. Although I generally like fashion with a strong bent toward historical art, choosing Van Gogh’s work seemed a bit uninspired; we’ve all seen enough Starry Night in our lives that we can probably skip seeing its visage emblazoned on 80s prom dresses.

The shoes of Rodarte Spring 2012, on the other hand, held my attention in a more positive way. Created for the first time by Burak Uyan, the two designs managed to take the inspiration from the dresses and turn it into subtler, slightly less literal sandals without sacrificing modernism. I like the mirrored silver version in particular, but the pixelated ankle strap of the purple option is quite becoming as well.

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