RIXO, A NEW TAKE ON THE PAST:

Along brands such as Mira Mikati (I will be posting more about her soon), Fashion is in an optimistic mode. We have been going through many tough times, even before the pandemic – the UK went through the Brexit turmoil that lasted a few years and the USA elected a reality TV star as a President. Let’s just say we were all looking for some good news, and some optimism. Even with such emotional turmoil about the values of those chosen to lead our country, Designers decided to hand us some good cheer through our clothing. Yes! It was appreciated. Bright, bold and colorful sums up Rixo’s charm. Simple dresses are colorblocked with mismatched prints, a touch of leopard or zebra, a touch of a vintage ditsy or a bold 70’s wallpaper inspired print. Rixo based in London, captures London style – as we Brits have always been trendsetters and style setters, back to -well- forever!

Rixo combines ladylike tea length dresses, with funky and adorable prints. Bell sleeves reminiscent of Biba, a British fashion institution from the 60’s, and spliced material blocked in bold shapes reminiscent of Mary Quant. Rixo recently orchestrated a great PR event with their bold floral, paisley and butterfly designed Double Decker bus emblazoned with their Logo in big, bright, happy yellow letters. The bus instantly reminded me of the Mary Quant bus from the 60’s.

The design and styling of Rixo is modern and fresh, as is the communication with the customer base on their very popular Instagram account where they developed the hashtag #humansofrixo for their customers to showcase their purchases in the uber cool styled shots shared.

Rixo is a brand to watch, their dresses are on the pricey side, just a little higher than high street but not quite at high designer level. If you’re looking to throw on a dress and feel instantly joyous – look no further!

xox

Sara Louise Petty

INSPIRED BY THE ARCHIVES:

Rixo definitely takes it’s cues from the simple cuts, bold color from the 60’s and 70’s and swinging London. Mary Quant had her own yellow double decker bus, synonymous with the streets of London, adorned with her logo in large block letters, and her ubiquitous bold daisy design. She became a fashion icon in United Kingdom by raising the hemlines and creating a bold, unafraid and feminist look after the more demure 1950’s. The pill had become widely available and women were going through immense liberation, and freedom. Her style captured those societal changes. Quant’s look was full of bright color, accented with heavy doses of graphic black and white, color block and the short hemlines were complimented by knee high boots, usually in patent or crinkled leather with a chunky block heel and squared toe.

Upon the (chunky block) heels of Miss Quant, Barbara Hulanicki, an alum of Brighton School of Art, opened her boutique Biba in Kensington in 1964. It quickly became a celebrity hangout attracting the likes of Mick Jagger, David Bowie and Marianne Faithfull. Her style was more feminine and less structured than Mary Quants sharp styling, and floppy hats, mini skirts and printed dresses in more warm honey and rust shades being her signature. She recently had a resurgence and designed a collab with TopShop. Both Biba and Quant had retrospectives at the V&A museum – their impact on the world of Fashion Design was huge, and clearly with brands like Rixo, still a large inspiration.