The designer envisioned his collaboration with Kashieca to embody a dancer’s wardrobe
Rhett Eala’s latest collaboration with Kashieca for BENCH Fashion Week Holiday 2024 speaks to the modern woman who values subtlety over spectacle. Inspired by the off-duty dancer, the collection assumes simplicity as the designer focuses on pieces that are relaxed, refined, and ready for anything. It’s designed for the woman who wants to exude grace without trying too hard—wearable sophistication for life’s quieter moments.
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Eala’s collection is the epitome of “feminine, but not so girly”, as he described it. It’s for the woman who’s just stepped off the stage but isn’t quite ready to leave the spotlight behind. The outcome is an effortless ensemble for the dancer who’s as at home in the studio as she is at a dinner soiree.
“This collection, when it came together, looks like a dancer’s wardrobe. It was off-duty,” he explained. “There’s a lot of tulle skirts, and there’s a lot of easy pieces that maybe a dancer off-duty would be wearing, but in very lightweight fabrics.” The emphasis on lightness shows the designer’s understanding of what modern women want—clothing that can move freely between roles, just like the women who wear it.
Eala toned down the color scheme, opting for a neutral palette that keeps the collection grounded. “We wanted a more neutral color palette for a holiday, and we wanted it to look more graphic,” he noted. In this choreography of design, the muted hues allow the form to take the lead, displaying that the most dramatic gestures are sometimes performed with the quietest steps.
For women who glide through life as if it were a dance, Rhett Eala’s collection hits the right notes. His designs are a wardrobe for the modern woman who balances elegance and ease with every move. Eala’s collaboration marries practicality with grace, moving with the rhythm of life, and allowing the wearer to transition from one moment to the next.
