Meryll Rogge (Q3363)
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Meryll Rogge is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Meryll Rogge |
Meryll Rogge is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
creative director
Congratulations are in order: Meryll Rogge married her partner this past May in Cadaqués, the same small Catalonian fishing village where Salvador Dalí once lived (his house has been preserved as a museum), and where the designer’s family has a home. This joyous occasion inspired a very personal collection. “Usually you are like, ‘Okay, what are we going to do this season?’ And you have a moodboard and you come across all these references. But this season was the opposite for me,” Rogge explained. “It literally started from: ‘What do I want to wear? What do I want to put on?’ It was a very intuitive way of designing and very freeing in a way…to have this moment of guilty pleasure [where] I can design whatever I want because I have nobody watching me or no frame of reference.”What does a fashion designer wear to her own wedding? Rogge figured there were three choices: Go with something vintage, ask a colleague to make something, or do it herself. Not surprisingly, she settled on the last option and went all in, creating four distinct dresses for herself. All of them made it into the collection and became the starting point for the rest of the offering. The most casual of the quartet (look 4) was a patchwork denim jacket and full skirt made, the designer said, of “upcycled Levi’s 501s—like the 1980s kind that doesn’t stretch and that really survived through time,” which referenced a1969 wedding dressmade by Yves Saint Laurent for Gersende de Sabran-Pontevès, duchess of Orléans, in shades of white. Retaining the palette and the piecing idea, Rogge chose a humbler and more substantial material. This idea was further developed into more casual pieces in blue denim, such as a fitted corset top, an overskirt, and removable collars on a country-gentleman-style check coat with outsize proportions.Next up was a kicky little ’60s-ish number (look 2), sheer white with same-fabric squares attached by big grommets fluttering over its surface. More mindful, more demure was a long, ivory-raw-hemmed sheath (look 16) made of the crinkled satin that is a brand signature. The pièce de résistance (look 20) was inspired by another Spaniard who lived in a fishing village, the couturier’s couturier, Cristóbal Balenciaga. In this case the references were general rather than specific. “I was just tapping the general codes and use of gatherings and drapes that lingered in my mind from Balenciaga,” Rogge explained.
“It was more a subtle homage to Spain in all its facets too; the clean vast volumes like the white houses, thick walls, the simplicity—there are not too many frills or lace, only the enlarged broderie anglaise as decoration—and of course the total indulgence of creating at the same time a big fat wedding cake of a dress!”
25 September 2024
Meryll Rogge staged a fashion show in a locker-lined basement of theÉcole Duperré, where she also hosted an after-party to mark four years in business. “It’s really difficult for young brands today, and the fact that we’re still here is a great thing for all of us, so we wanted to celebrate,” said the designer on a pre-show Zoom. (Note the festive, spangled silver disco-ball sweater, Look 14.)That post-show fête was advertised with posters that took their graphic style from the “new beat ’90s era” in Belgium that the designer grew up in. Underground parties were a big part of that house scene, and Rogge imagined someone receiving an invitation to one of them on a Nokia phone while at home or at soccer practice and cobbling an outfit together as they headed out for an evening that was centered on music and dancing rather than ’fit pics. The flip-phone aspect is important here; the spontaneous aesthetic Rogge is after relates to a way of living that no longer exists in this digital age of constant documentation, filters and surveillance.The first exit, a chic tracksuit accessorized with sport socks and high-heel sandals, was an example of how the designer linked freedom of expression and movement to a celebratory air. We’re sure to see more athleisure as the Olympics approach, and Rogge has established a lead there. Updated vintage references are a key part of this Marc Jacobs alum’s work, and grandpa-style fabrics were worked into tailored back-buttoned dressmaker shaped tops and dresses. Grandmother was represented by ’50s-ish big-shouldered mohair cardigans with crochet and beading, as well as sofa prints. The paisley, said Rogge, was “a bit inspired by Nan Goldin images” taken in interiors; the rose was cut off of an actual couch and scanned and reworked. Clear rainwear styled over that print played with the idea of the plastic-protected sofa. Preservation, or continuation, must have been on the designer’s mind as she marked an anniversary, but on the whole this collection seemed to celebrate youth rather than mourn its passing. In fact the link between the post-war era, when the idea of the teenager really started to take hold, with Rogge’s own salad days in the ’90s tells a story of continuity and continuance. With the exception of some puzzling blush-colored satin pieces, this collection was full of garments sure to appeal to one’s inner (wild) child.
1 March 2024
The development of Meryll Rogge’s spring collection, from first ideations to final stage, didn’t follow a straight path. While thinking generally about packing and lost luggage the designer stumbled upon an Instagram account devoted to chic airport style. “There was something about the vibe and this idea of traveling, and how it’s gone through different stages. How it used to be a glamorous thing and how now it’s frowned upon and people are trying to avoid it,” said Rogge on a call. These thoughts, plus her usual preoccupation with deconstruction and re-proportioning classical wardrobe pieces (there was a strong emphasis on trousers as well as trenches and Barbour-like jackets) led to the creation of an enchanting sartorial pensée on time.“The annoying thing, and the beautiful thing, about fashion is that there’s a deadline. It’s not like making music or a movie, or even architecture, where you can vary in time. Here, it’s six months,” she said. Not only do fashion weeks fly by in constant succession, she noted, but some fashion shows, “last for one minute and they’re done…. The pictures last forever, but it seems a bit mental the whole thing, so we made a decision to at least slow down our presentation.” It was the designer’s first and was held in an apartment where the furniture, some of it upturned, was covered with drop cloths as if it had been forgotten, lost, or frozen in time.The models who brought the clothes to life also got the clock ticking, so to speak. Some were wearing inflated short-shorts, perhaps inspired by the way nylon track pants can blow up, but these were the most extreme elements of a lineup with a strong focus on outerwear, an essential element of travel. The styling alternated between polished and disheveled—as the press statement put it, “clothes become the unlikely players of a material poem.”The preponderance of lingerie looks suggested the act of getting dressed and undressed, but also the inner life versus the public-facing one. Prep was channeled via Meryll Rogge club sweaters worn with roomy trousers or maxi denim skirts and luxury-style loafers. The counterpart to the latter were beaded party shoes that had a morning-after kind of feeling.Bricolage is always a part of Rogge’s work, both in terms of construction, and the vintage aesthetic she favors. Layering contributed to the puzzled together feeling of some of the collection.
It was easy to imagine someone having to put on miscellaneous items to bring a suitcase down to weight, for example; or not knowing what to do with a winter coat when arriving in a tropical climate. Travel morphs expectations as it does time.The series of dresses that closed the show combined satin and (souvenir) t-shirt jersey with motifs like palm trees and swans. They spoke to how we try to capture things that are transient. There are conscious actions, like buying the post-card, hoodie, or key chain, and then there is the way that our human existence is captured and preserved in fabric. Wrinkles and creases are evidence of our existence, as is mending. Clothing is pliant and can be folded, rolled, and hitched up to help us find comfort and move freely through space, and through life.
4 October 2023
The family portrait—as risible as it can be fraught—is the subject of “Pictures from Home,” a Broadway play based on a 1992 photo memoir by Larry Sultan, and also one of the concepts that informed Meryll Rogge’s winter-themed fall collection. Called The Holiday Album, it was inspired by sources highbrow and low,Home Aloneand the portraiture of Thomas Struth, among them, as well as the Rogge’s personal memories of Y2K—the event and the aesthetic.Rogge is from Belgium, a snowy climate, and her collection included a group of ski-thermal pieces including a body-con dress and bodysuit with unexpected pockets that complimented the more directly ski and apres-ski looks, like quilted nylon outerwear and tulle-padded pants. The snowiest and most luxe piece was a hand-worked upcycled shearling coat. Only a few will be made.What was notable about the suiting this season was the trouser silhouette; Rogge opted for cigarette—or in the context of this collection, maybe peppermint stick is a better description—legs. Those grays were overpowered by the more vibrant and extravagant party looks. Known for her hybrid pieces, the designer not only fused tartan to denim jeans, but added a sort of fishtail or kick hem, revealing the lining that flutters as the wearer walks. Plaids were also made into more pajama-like looks. Conifers seemed to have inspired the A-line shapes, while Christmas tree tinsel was translated into crinkled metallics and satins, and many pieces were ornamented with large, dense, sequins.One of the best bits of the offering was a deconstructed dress in pink satin with mismatched vintage buttons. Roses stood in for poinsettias, too obvious a reference, the designer said, and they added dimensionality and fun to a pair of Rudolf-red briefs and a glorious, hand-embroidered dress with a Poiret-like silhouette. There was even a boxy “present” dress of red Lurex, the most literal take on the theme.There were a lot of fun surprises here, but the collection lacked the coherence, and the more classic twists, of those that preceded it. (There were day options, but none of them were especially tame.) This kind of made sense in light of the Y2K theme, and because holidays bring disparate family members (chosen or real) together.This extroverted collection was presented at a bowling alley under the Arc de Triomphe, and the lanes were put to use.
Rogge said she received “the best compliment that I’ve ever had,” when someone came up to her and said, “For the first time in my whole career, I made friends at Fashion Week.” The designer’s aim is to create clothes that will make you smile, and be with you for a long time, just like a bestie.
3 March 2023
Meryll Rogge, who spent six years working in New York with Marc Jacobs, thinks of America as her “second home.” Her first post-lockdown trip was to sunny, escapist Los Angeles, which felt, she said on a call, “like it was a different world… so inspiring and so light and happy.” Back home in Belgium, she decided that for spring she and her team would focus on a foreigner’s view of America, clichés and all. As the months passed, however, the goings-on in America, including the overturning of Roe Vs. Wade, soured some of the team’s initial optimism. On a happier note, they reached out to the Swiss artist Beni Bischof after discovering his Rambo and Bambi books, which are inspired by the Hollywood movies of the same names and which deliver pointed commentary via faux-naive watercolors.Bischof not only made his archive available to Rogge, he also agreed to create a number of not-for-sale pieces for the collection. Bischof was given carte blanche; there was no discussion about the theme, so Rogge was shocked at the synchronicity of their preoccupations when she received two pieces that play on the American flag. The back of the jacket reads Oxycontin. “He went there with this one, which is brutally, brutally honest,” said Rogge.The designer’s take on the theme was softer, but not sugar-coated. Inspired by high school dramas, and especially the jocks who dominate them, there were many sports-inspired pieces in this, the brand’s first unisex collection. Football lacing climbed up the front of a floral print dress, and there were midriff-cut tees, and what looked like a V-neck sweatshirt but was actually a double knit. The jersey separates made sense within the collection, but started to feel repetitive. Rogge took on Ivy League classics too, turning a striped button-down shirt into a pair of shorts, and making a classic cable knit into an overdyed “twin set” of sorts. Professors’ favorite corduroy was worked into a boxy suit, and appliqued on a pair of elephant-leg jeans.For evening, Rogge’s offering ranged from safe (a strapless LBD) to sensational. Imagining what she would wear if she attended red-carpet events, the designer came up with an exciting winged shape that grows out of a simple column and has a train that’s knotted at the end. Though it wasn’t flashy or skin baring, it was almost as if the model had just gotten out of bed, and as such had a louche day-after vibe.
In contrast, there was a sense of chaos to pieces like a T-shirt skirt and a deconstructed inside-out blue coat to which archival works by Bischof were applied, almost as posters are to walls (but with fringes added). Rogge has quickly established a fluent design language; this season she used her voice in additional ways. “It’s a time where it’s very difficult to stay silent,” she said. “To be honest, I don’t think the collection is a political statement; I think it’s more like a human statement, or a woman’s statement. I think as a woman, for other women, I think it’s important that we’re there with them.”
28 September 2022
For fall, Meryll Rogge extended her deconstructionist approach beyond garments to challenge the distinction that is generally made between clothing for day/reality and night/fantasy. Even in this era of anything-goes fashion, when it comes to after dark dressing, Cinderella and Jessica Rabbit still set the templates. But Rogge is less interested in how clothing can be used to create characters outside of oneself than in how garments might enable the wearer to show different aspects of who they are according to mood and occasion. “For me,” said the Belgian designer on a call, “it’s more about different individualities within ourselves. Within each person there are different facets.”Titled “Poor Connection,” in reference to the isolation and distancing created by the pandemic, this collection—which was designed six months ago, well before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—is intended to be celebratory and social. The presentation, the designer’s first on the PFW calendar, was held in the hôtel particulier that is the future home of DSM, and organized as a cocktail party. The dressier pieces in the offering build upon core values, like comfort. Worn alone, a long black knitted dress with a cut-out back makes sweater dressing possible for vamps; Rogge styled it over one of her deconstructed, customizable button downs, which took the glamour down a notch. This season her signature slip dresses lace has geometric cut-outs; the trompe l’oeil finale version appears to be two layered slips, but is just one.Similar surprises pop up in options for day. A pair of wide-leg jeans is actually a center-split skirt. The “broken hearts” sweaters, intended as a souvenir of lockdown days, have artfully-rendered pulls, and the upcycled blanket scarves are attached to tailored coats using fireman hooks. As this is the biggest collection Rogge has yet shown (the designer, a semifinalist for the 2022 LVMH Prize, often works with deadstock) there are points of overlap with trends seen elsewhere, though done originally. It’s the exploration of sportswear for evening that is the season’s stretch. There’s no real reason why eveningwear can’t be as comfortable as a soccer jersey, as Rogge’s beautifully draped piped and pieced sporty evening skirts underscore.
3 March 2022
“Should fashion be explained? Are references and discourses a necessity to enjoy fashion?” were some of the questions Meryll Rogge mulled over with friends during the creation of her spring lineup. The discussions inspired the cheeky “All Talk” lip print by Jorn Olsthoorn.“Fashion is like music: You don’t need to know the backstory to be able to enjoy it,” says Rogge, who hit all the right notes with a collection chock-full of pieces that need no spin. What’s not to love about a valentine-red oversize cardigan jacket and shorts trimmed with tinsel, workwear in a range of Crayola colors, or artfully deconstructed denim?The heart wants what it wants, and one of the reasons people have warmed so quickly to Rogge’s work is that it is at once reassuringly familiar and new. The Belgian designer isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel: “We like to work with recognizable items,” she says via Zoom. “It makes people connect…and it’s comforting for people. They get an entrance into something that they understand already.”For spring, Rogge revisits workwear, taking fisherman coats and quilted jackets, for example, far upstream from, say, L.L.Bean, through proportion and color play. Her motivation to explore these kinds of pieces was personal. “Running this small business and being very active, I like to be able to wear practical things. I need to put my phone somewhere, I need to run around, and in Belgium there’s rain,” she says.In light of the new Costume Institute exhibition, it’s impossible to miss in the toppers, topstitched denim, and jean skirts a touch of the red, white, and blue. Rogge, who lived in New York when working for Marc Jacobs, explains that “this Americana is also such an iconic part of my youth. When I was a teenager, it was very much about Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger. And all those people created this amazing universe that’s going back further, of course, to the original 1900 workwear pieces…and then the Japanese did it very well too.” Rogge admits there’s an autobiographical aspect to her work, and this season’s deep dive into deconstruction is, she says, a way to pay homage to her Belgian idols.These frameworks bring added value to the clothes, but they lose nothing without them.
An outsize tuxedo coat/dress with contrast cuffs and a bricolage brooch, a bustier top with jacquard “wings” extending from a checkerboard knit bottom, silky dresses for nights out, and a vintage-looking sequined skirt are invitations to get dressed and go out into the world again. If this collection sets your heart racing, it might be, in part, because enthusiasm is contagious. Rogge really enjoys what she does. “My love for fashion is many things,” she says, explaining that her likes range across categories and from Cristóbal Balenciaga to Paul Poiret. “I know it might sound a little surprising, but it’s genuine.” As is Rogge.
29 September 2021
With only two seasons under her belt, Meryll Rogge has caught the attention of major retailers and had a viral hit in the form of a witty glove bolero, which will make a return appearance, in black patent leather, this season. The fun, the color, the cleverness and the sophistication of this Belgian’s work, which is speaking to women and men around the world, belie the superhuman effort it takes to get a new brand up and running. Rogge, helped greatly by friends, is essentially a team of one working from her parents’ home in the Belgian countryside.It’s there that Rogge dreamed of becoming an illustrator and working for Disney, before catching the fashion bug and making a deal with her family that on completion of her bachelor’s degree, in law, she could pursue her own interests. She did that at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, leaving before completing her master’s to move to New York and work with Marc Jacobs. After seven years in the city, Rogge returned to Antwerp and worked as the head of women’s for Dries Van Noten, with whom she shares a great love of color.Soon it was time to follow her own path and join the ranks of women designing for other women—though Rogge, who is developing a devoted male following, stresses that everyone is welcome to join in the fun. “There’s always this aspect of masculine/feminine that comes in,” says Rogge of her house codes. There’s also “an accent on luxury,” via the materials used, and an “aspect of vintage reference. I’m kind of leaning on classics of the past, really trying to recreate them in a way that is ours.” Among those reinvented for fall is the classic trench, made roomy and with a detachable floral collar and placket. Rogge describes it being “kind of like, let’s say, the lining on your relative’s ’60s floral coat.” Bougie A-line midi-skirts are recolored, and what looks at first glance like a sporty side-stripe pant is actually a brilliant new take on a tuxedo pant.The key looks in the fall collection come in the form of a series of slip dresses, their V-necks framed by Italian embroidery, that Rogge describes as “kind of our ode to Margiela.” Big spreading collars nod to the paintings of the Dutch artist Frans Hals. Throughout the line-up, as in a cutaway sweater set that’s actually all one piece and has nothing mumsy about it, Rogge makes use of deconstruction.
This is a technique that was popularized by the Antwerp Six in the early 1990s, yet it is not intended to be backwards looking or an homage; rather, it’s part of the designer’s larger interest in making classics her own.“You know, my teacher was Walter Van Beirendonck, he’s totally on a different planet than Martin, or Dries, but they all were in the same class in the same school,” notes Rogge. “I’ve never felt like there was this boundary: ‘Oh, you’re a Belgian, you’re Northern; oh, you should be doing gray melange stuff only, or black.’” In fact, what unifies the work of many Belgian designers is not an aesthetic, but a purity of vision supported by a strident sense of individuality. In possessing those qualities, Rogge is bringing that legacy forward to a new generation.
3 March 2021