This year’s collections have been described as somber, but from the zeitgeist, something completely new always reaches out and captivates. That’s the case with the Los Angeles-based label Rodarte, designed by sisters Laura and Kim Mulvey. Instead of horizontal layers, gowns had luminescent vertical ruffles, inspired by “the texture of tree bark,” according to Laura Mulvey. The ultimate effect was of bone-white trees from a magical world. Other dresses and coats are colored in the yellow of Paris lights. When the Rodarte collection incorporates unusual elements, the whimsy is worked through the entire piece, not plopped on a shoulder asymmetrically.

“Sculptures by Brancusi, the film ‘Elvira Madigan,’ and the myth of Persephone are the three main things inspiring this collection,” Ms. Mulvey told The New York Sun, adding that the collection is made to be wearable, yet avant-garde. That’s often said, but rarely achieved. These two sisters did it.