Banana Republic Taps Narciso Rodriguez as Its First Designer 'Advisor'

3:30 PM, August 14 2012

By Alison Syrett

Starting August 20, Narciso Rodriguez will assume a position as Banana Republic's new "advisor." However, the designer's role within the chain is going to be a quieter one than most high profile team-ups. (And very different from his collaboration with Kohl's.) Instead of creating a one-off capsule collection stamped with his name, he'll have a lasting position working behind-the-scenes.

WWD reports that the first range of clothes influenced by Rodriguez will be for Fall 2013, so we'll probably get a first look at them this coming winter. Don't expect to find carbon copies of his namesake line, though. Since all the pieces will still be under the Banana Republic label, they'll integrate everything we love about the company—classic silhouettes, comfortable cuts, affordability—with Narciso's vision. Still, some themes will probably be similar since all of his work has that distinct architectural style. To get a an idea of whats to come, we've found shoppable items from his RTW range that best illustrate what he'll bring to the gig. Click through to buy them now.

photo credit: WWD/Kyle Ericksen

Rodriguez is not a man who likes a lot of fuss. Regardless of his inspiration source or the label he's designing for, his creations are consistently streamlined and frill-free. This could be a great match for Banana Republic's extensive line of work-appropriate suiting.

Since the Brazilian-born designer keeps his silhouettes so simple, he makes them memorable by adding color—the more saturated the better. Looks like the cardigan wall is about to get way more exciting!

Some of Narciso's most basic designs seem intricate and complicated because of the way he masterfully chooses fabrics. Nubby textured wool, iridescent silk, gauzy overlays could all be coming to a Banana Republic near you.

Like, literally…he likes to put geometric shapes of solid color against one another. Which would really jazz up that side table of basic crewneck sweaters, no?

One of the Rodriguez's biggest influences is architecture, so any embellishments he does add are very structured and purposeful. So yeah...there'll probably be peplums.

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