Rachel Lauren Mueller: Venice & Beyond
STYLED FOR THE WORLD PREMIERE OF THEY’RE HERE AND SURROUNDING EVENTS AT THE 2026 VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
A FIRST ARRIVAL, AND THE BEGINNING OF A MUCH LONGER CONVERSATION.
RACHEL REACHED OUT WHILE PREPARING FOR THE VENICE PREMIERE OF THEY’RE HERE, THE FILM SHE CO-DIRECTED WITH LAURA POITRAS.
IT WAS HER FIRST MAJOR INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL APPEARANCE, AND SHE KNEW HOW SHE WANTED TO FEEL: POWERFUL, SERIOUS, SLIGHTLY REBELLIOUS. TO STAND OUT SUBTLY, AND TO RECOGNIZE HERSELF IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS AFTERWARD.
SHE WAS ALSO IN THE MIDST OF FINISHING THE FILM. BETWEEN SOUND WORK IN MEXICO CITY, INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL, AND THE APPROACHING PREMIERE, MUCH OF OUR COLLABORATION HAPPENED FROM AFAR. WE BUILT A RHYTHM THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHS, SHARED REFERENCES, MESSAGES, AND CONVERSATIONS WHENEVER OUR SCHEDULES MET. THOSE EXCHANGES BECAME A WAY OF UNDERSTANDING HER INSTINCTS, SO OUR TIME TOGETHER IN BROOKLYN - A QUICK DETOUR FROM HER HOME BASE IN MINNEAPOLIS - COULD BE SPENT FINALIZING ALL THE LOOKS.
THE FILM WAS ALWAYS PART OF THAT CONVERSATION. THE FILM’S DOCUMENTARY URGENCY AND DYSTOPIAN HORROR LANGUAGE INFORMED OUR INTEREST IN ARCHITECTURAL SHAPES, TRANSPARENCY, AND CLOTHES WITH A CERTAIN TENSION. THE WARDROBE NEEDED TO RESPECT THE GRAVITY OF THE WORK WHILE GIVING RACHEL SPACE TO EXPRESS HERSELF WITHIN THIS VERY PUBLIC MOMENT.
DZHUS BECAME A PARTICULARLY MEANINGFUL CONNECTION. UKRAINIAN DESIGNER IRINA DZHUS APPROACHES CLOTHING THROUGH TRANSFORMATION, CREATING PIECES THAT RESIST A SINGLE SHAPE OR PRESCRIBED WAY OF WEARING THEM. HER WORK HAS DRAWN EXPERIMENTAL MUSICIANS AND ARTISTS WHO USE CLOTHING AS PART OF THEIR OWN CREATIVE LANGUAGE. THAT INDEPENDENCE FELT CLOSE TO RACHEL’S SENSIBILITY.
FOR THE PREMIERE, WE LAYERED DZHUS’S PERSPECTIVE JACKET OVER A SHEER VINTAGE DKNY DRESS FROM THE FIELD TO FRAME ARCHIVE, SHOWCASING ARCHITECTURAL METAL VINTAGE FRINGE EARRINGS, WITH MIISTA VITO BOOTS BENEATH. THE JACKET GAVE THE LOOK ITS EXTRAORDINARY ARCHITECTURE; THE VINTAGE PIECES BROUGHT MOVEMENT AND TRANSPARENCY. TOGETHER, THEY HELD THE BALANCE WE HAD BEEN EXPLORING: STRENGTH, EXPOSURE, AND A LITTLE UNEASE.
FOR THE PHOTOCALL, THE ØTHER OFFERED A CONNECTION THROUGH STORYTELLING ITSELF. FOUNDER NYLA HASAN’S WORK EXPLORES CULTURAL INHERITANCE, IDENTITY, AND BELONGING. HER REZ TROUSERS, WORN WITH A T-SHIRT SHOWCASING THE FILM’S MESSAGE, BROUGHT THAT THOUGHTFUL DESIGN LANGUAGE TOGETHER WITH SOMETHING DISTINCTLY PERSONAL. I LOVE THOSE COMBINATIONS, WHERE THE CLOTHES CARRY THE DESIGNER’S PERSPECTIVE AND THE WEARER’S HISTORY AT ONCE.
FOR THE MIU MIU PARTY AND THE MOMENTS SURROUNDING THE PREMIERE, WE CONTINUED EXPLORING VINTAGE AND THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN MASCULINE LINES, SHEER LAYERS, AND A SHARPER EDGE. A VINTAGE MUGLER MINI DRESS ALIGNED WITH THE ALEXIS BITTAR ACCESSORIES, WITH THE MIISTA BOOTS ADDING AN EDGE. THERE WAS ROOM FOR PLEASURE AND EXPERIMENTATION ALONGSIDE THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE FESTIVAL.
MIISTA BELONGED IN THAT WORLD FOR MORE THAN ITS SILHOUETTES. THE BRAND’S EMBRACE OF ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES AND UNCONVENTIONAL SELF-EXPRESSION FELT ALIGNED WITH RACHEL’S INDEPENDENT EYE. THE BOOTS CARRIED THAT ATTITUDE INTO THE PREMIERE WITHOUT MAKING THE LOOK FEEL PRECIOUS.
ALEXIS BITTAR BROUGHT ANOTHER CREATIVE HISTORY INTO THE WARDROBE. HIS ROOTS IN BROOKLYN AND NEW YORK’S CLUB CULTURE, HIS SCULPTURAL APPROACH, AND HIS CELEBRATION OF PEOPLE OUTSIDE FASHION’S FAMILIAR FRAME FELT CONNECTED TO THE FREEDOM WE WANTED RACHEL TO HAVE. THE TEAM’S GENEROUS COLLABORATION GAVE US ROOM TO EXPLORE ACCESSORIES AS SMALL, EXPRESSIVE INTERVENTIONS ACROSS DIFFERENT LOOKS.
VENICE GAVE US A BEGINNING. AS RACHEL TRAVELS WITH THE FILM INTO FALL, WE’RE RETURNING TO THESE FOUNDATIONS AND FINDING NEW DIRECTIONS TOGETHER. SOME OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE NOW BECOMING BESPOKE PIECES, DEVELOPED DIRECTLY WITH DESIGNERS AROUND HER.
THOSE ARE STORIES I’M SAVING FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER. A FEW ARE STILL TAKING SHAPE.
