Rolando Santana Brings His Sophisticated Fall 2014 Collection to Elizabeth Anthony…

Rolando Santana Brings His Sophisticated Fall 2014 Collection to Town, inspired by  Mexican born artist Gabriel Orozco

Rolando Santana, the designer who wowed the Fashion Houston audience in November with his ultra-feminine, sophisticated collection was back in town recently at            Elizabeth Anthony/Esther Wolf with his Fall Collection, sharp in contrast to the Spring line that we all fell in love with but equally as strong.  The difference, I learned, after chatting with the designer at the store, is that his collections are hugely inspired by an artist and their works. In Spring, it was Freda Kahlo and his reflection was of color and flowers and ultimate femininity.  For Fall ’14, Santana’s inspiration was Mexican born conceptual artist Gabriel Orozco and a specific piece called Vitral, which reflected on clean lines in nature, as in tree branches that have become a dominate graphic print for this sophisticated, modern and mostly black and white collection.

His point of view has always been to design for the real woman….he truly thinks about his clients when designing. His clothes range in size from 2-14 or larger if needed, as he is primarily a made-to-order business. His greatest pleasure is to be out there in the stores, chatting with his customers, knowing what they like and designing with them in mind. He does design a step-down line, Rolo & Ale, which is carried in Contemporary Departments in many high-end department/specialty stores. At Elizabeth Anthony he hangs only his designer digs.

The collection, as you will see below….reflect simple styling, beautiful fabrics such as leather, suede, sheer, embellished and this year the addition of fur on many pieces…..all done so elegant yet sophisticated, I know I’ve used this word a lot but that is the ultimate description of this collection, and very modern.  There were so many pieces that I wanted and knew that I would wear that if I  could have I would have made a list of grocery list length, and wished upon a star to have them all show up in my closet! I am showing my favorites below…..lots of black & white with a quiet pop of color in silver grey and softest lilac/silver.

One of the things that I love about Fashion Houston, is the opportunity to become acquainted with a designer that I had not previously followed. In this case Rolando Santana has had two wins in a row that I’ve seen and I can hardly wait to see his NYFW show to see what’s next…..

HIGHLIGHT OF THE FALL 2014 COLLECTION

 Another tree branch interpretation in wool dress and jacket which he has layered over his soft, lightweight separates

 Loved the simplicity of the double-face wool knits…..palest lavender & white fit & flare dess

 The black long dress is in softest suede and comes in black, brown and grey…I wanted all three and how cute is that flirty ruffled skirt in crispest white, a new LWD

 These outfits had it all…..caviar beading, cashmere, leather and sheared fur

 Another take on those graphic tree branch-inspired prints….sheerly elegant in both long & and short

LBD gets updated in leather and textured embellishments…..and one of my favorites, the simplest, log black satin gown, slightly higher in front with tight, short train to back…timeless!

The Black beaded pantsuit and the slim legged satin with fur cropped jacket

 How chic is soft grey mink….cropped jacket and a mink infinity scarf/wrap…pure elegance!

Rolando Santana, the man, resides in NYC; click on his website for even more beauties to see and add to your wish list….I did!

photos courtesy of Rolando Santana