For fall 2024, Emily Adams Bode Aujla is introducing a new line with a sportswear bend called Bode Recreation. “It’s our interpretation of American athletic wear, largely inspired from the 1770s through the 1970s, and it’s the first time that we’re introducing certain materials more focused on washability and wearability,” she said at the label’s sprawling new headquarters in lower Manhattan. “It’s not necessarily a different price point, it’s more about expanding our offering and our customer base.” The Bode Recreation collection features pieces like fleece sweatpants, functional tennis skirts, and men’s swimsuits including a groovy one-piece style that she originally made for Jeremy O. Harris.
Given that she was in a sporty state of mind, the main Bode collections for both men and women were tinged with different sportswear details. Fantastic lace pieces were appliquéd with figures playing sports; for the menswear, it was a rendition of a button-down shirt with alternating solid stripes and lace stripes depicting men playing football, and for the womenswear, the lace featured silhouettes playing tennis and was used on the trim of silk camisoles and slip dresses. There were colorful lurex sweaters decorated with field hockey sticks, knitted cardigans with intarsia basketball players, and a particularly elegant white silk jacquard with a tonal football print. This last one was used on sleeveless women’s jumpsuit and matching shawl that the designer envisioned as a fun wedding or rehearsal dinner outfit.
The inspiration also manifested itself in more practical ways; like the handsome dark gray “thornproof” three piece suit made “in a historic mill that specializes in sporting fabrics;” the waterproof, super-light zip jacket and matching pants decorated with patches; or the simple, unlined wool jacket inspired by the kind that football players wear to stay warm on the bench. That jacket featured a zippable hood that when left open has a sort of sailor collar shape, a recurring Bode theme. Elsewhere even simple knit sweaters and t-shirts inspired by the design of hockey or football jerseys proved just as special.
Fall 2024 also marks the third outing for Bode Aujla’s dedicated womenswear collection, and it’s worth noting that it’s developing into something pretty remarkable. Between the beaded 1920s slip dresses (this season in lipstick red), the lavishly embellished knits and bra tops, the 1930s-inspired bias cut chiffon dresses, and super delicate (and super sexy) silk underpinnings and matching pointelle tank tops and panties, a sense of real pleasure and indulgence permeates her women’s clothes. Lately, there’s been lots of conversations regarding the ways in which women designers approach making clothes for women; oftentimes, the focus is on the fact that they design for women’s “real lives” meaning wearable, meaning comfortable, meaning suited for a wide range of bodies. Beyond all this, Bode Aujla is also tapping into women’s fantasies; their desire to wear beautiful and devastating things just for themselves. If anyone happens to join in their fun, well, that’s a bonus.
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