With a poetic style all their own, sibling design duo Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte specialise in dreamy, delicate gowns that draw on the romantic past and the "infinite beauty of nature". Since their 2005 New York Fashion Week debut, that immediately won over hard-to-please fashion insiders Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld and Christian Louboutin among others, their enchanting designs fusing chiffon ruffles, leather biker details and tie-dyed silk alongside intricate beading and knit techniques have continued to capture the imaginations of the fashion world. Merging delicate femininity with a darker aesthetic, collections over recent years have been shaped by the kindred sisters' shared obsession with unusual moody and romantic themes spanning the ‘Sleepwalkers’ of Jaurez, Mexico, modern Japanese horror films and Kabuki Theatre through to grand manors, roses, tree bark and Rauschenberg and Gainsbourough paintings.
“Our approach to design really captures our creative spirit, which tends to be an 'anything goes' attitude. Our pieces are both punk and lady-like, delicate and hard, whimsical and structured. Our work is often a study of balance, where volume, construction and colour have a complex interplay that we carefully control." Living and working in Pasadena, Los Angeles, and with no formal fashion education but rather degrees in Art Theory and History obtained through San Francisco’s Berkely, the sister’s have steadfastly followed their own rules from the very beginning, and continue to relish their distance from the New York fashion world. "There are a lot of opinions in fashion circles, but we think it's nice to exist on our own terms. There isn't a real fashion community in LA, so we've had the freedom to build our own world, with our own way of working."
LAURA MULLEAVY
How would you describe Kate?
Laura: Kate is an amazing writer and artist.
What's your favourite memory together?
Laura: When we were at the University of Berkeley we took a costume design class, which was one of the only classes that we ever took on fashion except for a comparative literature class on food, clothing, and the jazz age. One of the first assignments was to create a storyboard of costumes for a Shakespearean play. We ended up choosing the Tempest and As You Like It. After picking our plays, the professor showed us a shelf of Vogues from the 1960’s and 70’s, saying that we could cut them up for our projects. Over the next couple of days we proceeded to sneak as many of the magazines out of the classroom as possible. We carried heavy stacks of Vogues down Telegraph Avenue every Tuesday and Thursday until we had saved them all. That was the first time we officially worked together in fashion!
You seem to work together almost symbiotically - how would you describe your creative partnership?
Laura: We do not divide any roles, although Kate does our final sketches. We work as one mind. We design together, and argue together, and then agree. We always agree. It is strange. There is not much that the other one does not know. It seems that we have had a strong dialogue since we were young, and were more troublemakers than anything else. We loved to invent, and to create.
Any ‘Mean Girls’ moments?
Laura: When we were little I told Kate that Santa Claus wasn't real – and I’m the younger one!
How does the term 'Kindred Spirits' apply to your relationship?
Laura: We understand each other without even having to fully communicate.
Tell us one of your sister’s little-known quirks?
Laura: It's hard to believe but Kate does not drive – and in Los Angeles where we live that is really unheard of, so it's a good thing she has me!
What song, work of art, or place reminds you of your sister?
Laura: For me, the opening credits of Star Wars makes me think of Kate – we have watched it a million times!
Growing up, or as teens, did you always imagine working together?
Laura: Fashion is a communicative medium and we are always going to be searching for different ways to engage in that dialogue. The larger discourse involves a greater social context: nature, art, history, science, mathematic equations – nothing exists in isolation.
Did you always want to be involved with fashion?
Laura: Kate and I always knew that we wanted to be designers. In the beginning we wanted to recreate trees that surrounded us as children – growing up, we were surrounded by redwoods. We wanted to create texture with delicate and very simple textiles.
What inspires you to create season after season?
Laura: Our collections are very personal. In the end, we suppose our pieces are more of a reflection of our imagination than anything else. Because the pieces are thought about and developed with such a slight of hand, and with a light approach, we want to capture a feeling of airlessness when they are brought to life. In order to do this, we have to use complicated techniques that make our clothes as light as they can be. The fragility and delicate nature of our pieces comes naturally from our design process. We don’t think about it other than it being a part of what we do. We are driven to create each season because it allows us to further challenge are fundamental design beliefs and aesthetics. Each season is an experiment.
KATE MULLEAVY
How would you describe Laura?
Kate: I love how determined and precise Laura can be.
What are your biggest similarities - and differences?
Kate : We have a shared collective memory which allows for our aesthetic interest to conceptually evolve from our personal history. We are attracted to imperfection and to the beauty of chaos. Growing up, our house rested right on the San Andreas Fault. I can remember a huge earthquake happening one summer… I was standing in our kitchen and within a few seconds every porcelain plate, bowl, and glass cup had literally flown off the shelves and shattered on the floor around me. I remember being mesmerized by the shards. A broken plate will always be more interesting to Laura and I than a perfect, untouched object. The value is in the stain, the shadow, smudge, tear…
You seem to work together almost symbiotically - how would you describe your creative partnership?
Kate: We work on everything together; we are one in the same. Everything we do as designers comes from a desire to learn and discover, to look at the world at a microscopic level in all its detail – to discover the fantastical in the natural.
What is your sister's best quality?
Kate: Laura’s best quality is that she always follows her instincts which is essential to the process of design.
How does the term 'Kindred Spirits' apply to your relationship?
Kate: In many ways, we work as one person.
Tell us one of your sister’s little-known quirks?
Kate: One of Laura’s favorite movies is Summer School!
What song, work of art, or place reminds you of your sister?
Kate: Whenever I’m at the beach around Santa Cruz and I smell Eucalyptus and salty air mixed with cotton candy, it reminds me of Laura, because we spent so much time there as kids.
Growing up, or as teens, did you always imagine you'd work together?
Kate: I think we always knew that we would work together; it just seemed natural.