To say it’s a complicated time for Rhuigi Villaseñor would be an understatement. The Filipino-American designer’s exit from Bally was announced just over two months ago, and last week it was revealed that he is being sued by one of Rhude’s stakeholders for allegedly “mishandling funds” at the Los Angeles-based label. But despite the drama—and the ensuing internet and industry chatter—today backstage at his spring 2024 show Villaseñor had nothing to offer than calm, cool, and collected vibes. His eye, it seems, is on the future.
Villaseñor titled this collection “A Dream Within A Dream,” and said that it was dedicated to the aspirations he’s had since his childhood. “I don’t even know what the American dream is anymore, but between that dream and the other dreams I had, I just had this self-realization that I have what I wanted all along,” he said. He meant his label Rhude, and the opportunity to build what he was focusing on elsewhere right at home.
As that suggests, this Rhude outing was both a reset and a push for more. “It’s a time to calibrate and make sure that it’s focused in the right direction here on out,” Villaseñor said. The direction he wants to go in is toward a lifestyle brand, and so he put forward footwear, accessories, handbags, swimwear, and, most importantly, womenswear. The vision was convincing, albeit a bit bland. The men’s tailoring was well-cut and proportioned, and the women’s resort-friendly capsule was alluring. The fabrics are all look expensive, the colors—strawberry red, navy, cream, and sky blue—painted a compelling and aspirational picture, and every look sold the fantasy. But it conjured less Rhude than it did Villaseñor’s predecessors in the pantheon of American luxury sportswear (Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfigher are the two names guests dropped on the way out.)
Where Villaseñor found his stride here was in the nuances of adding sporty varsity stripes to tailored trousers, and sprinkling in the coolness of the Rhude guy via nautical but fun head-to-toe prints, a cool after-pool terry cloth quarter zip, and a fabulous leather-trimmed caftan. The slicker looks felt the most directional, and offered a convincing take on Rhude’s version of this familiar idea of luxury. Surprisingly, there were no logos (minus a surfboard and a “Rhude” cropped outline hidden on a pair of shorts). “I think what’s existing in the market is super logo driven,” the designer said, “but I want to bring a new thing.”
Fewer logos isn’t bad thing and Villaseñor can be commended on looking for novelty, but balance is key. This expansion proved a worthwhile experiment, but as he focuses on subtlety in this new chapter of Rhude, Villaseñor must be careful not to clean up his aesthetic a little too much. Those recognizable elements are the foundations that lifestyle brands are built on, and one of the reasons Rhude is a hit in the first place. But Villaseñor is nothing if not confident… When asked for comment about the chatter of the last few weeks he only had the following to offer: “What is that verse? Isaiah 57:17, no weapons or evil formed against me shall prosper.”
