Rodarte () is an American brand of clothing and accessories founded and headquartered in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California,

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, by sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy. Rodarte has received a number of

fashion industry Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

awards since the line's inception in 2005. In addition to their main fashion line, the sisters have also collaborated with Gap and

Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...

on limited edition pieces.

History

In 2002 after leaving college, the Mulleavy sisters returned home to

Aptos, California Aptos (Ohlone for "The People") is an unincorporated town in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The town is made up of several small villages, which together form Aptos: Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, Aptos Village, Cabrillo, Seacliff, ...

, where they spent the intervening years saving up

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$16,500 in order to create a capsule collection, with Laura working as a waitress and Kate selling off a collection of rare records. The label ''Rodarte'' is the original Spanish pronunciation and spelling of their mother's maiden name, Rodart. After their initial collection of just ten pieces (which included seven dresses and two coats), the Mulleavys traveled to New York City and appeared on the cover of a February 2005 issue of ''

Women's Wear Daily ''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides i ...

''. This led to their meeting with ''

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'' editor-in-chief

Anna Wintour Dame Anna Wintour ( ; born 3 November 1949) is a British-American media executive, who has been serving as editor-in-chief of '' Vogue'' since 1988. Wintour has also served as global chief content officer of Condé Nast since 2020, where she o ...

, who personally flew to Los Angeles to meet the sisters. The Mulleavy sisters garnered notoriety early on for their meticulous approach to clothing, with one chiffon dress from their 2006 collection taking over 150 hours to complete. In the spring of 2007, the label released a line of limited-edition exclusive shirts in collaboration with Gap. In December 2009, the label released another separate line of limited-edition pieces in collaboration with

Style and influences

They both credit their West Coast upbringing as a major source of inspiration for their collections. The natural American landscape is of particular inspiration to the sisters. Rodarte's aesthetic influences have evolved since the label's establishment, with their evolution described in 2010 as "darker, their clothing riskier, more deconstructed, punk, and gothic. Each collection has been stranger than the last, influenced by

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

and

horror films Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

, and elements of S & M culture." In an article published by ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', the label was described as "the fashion equivalent of a Basquiat. People in the know really love it, but to everyone else it’s inscrutable or a little bit ugly."

Museums and exhibitions

Backstage at Fall 2008 Rodarte fashion show

Rodarte is in the permanent collections of the Costume Institute of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum in New York, the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...

, and the

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. Rodarte was featured in the fall 2007 exhibit ''BLOGMODE'' at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, as well as several exhibits at The Museum at FIT including ''Luxury'' in spring 2007, ''Gothic: Dark Glamour'' in fall 2008, and ''American Beauty: Aesthetics & Innovation in Fashion'' in spring 2010. Arnhem Fashion Biennale featured Rodarte vignettes in July 2007, 2009 and 2011. In 2013, the Boston Museum of Fine Art featured their Blue and White Embroidered Spring 2011 Dress and Printed shoes. For the 2013 Punk: Chaos to Couture Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute show, 4 looks of Rodarte's Spring 2009 and Fall 2008 Collections were on display. In 2008, Rodarte was featured in ''

Artforum ''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ × 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notably ...

'', making the Mulleavy sisters the first fashion designers to be featured in the magazine since

Issey Miyake was a Japanese fashion designer. He was known for his technology-driven clothing designs, exhibitions and fragrances, such as '' L'eau d'Issey'', which became his best-known product. Early life and education Miyake was born on 22 April 1938 i ...

in 1982. In February 2010, Rodarte had their first solo-exhibition, at the

Cooper-Hewitt Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum at the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile. It is one of 19 Smithsonian Institution museums and one of three Smithsonian facili ...

(the design branch of the

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). In May 2011, Rodarte contributed artworks to the

s ''Cell Phone Stories'' project. Their contribution included sketches based on artworks held in the LACMA's permanent collection. In February 2011, the

Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) is a contemporary art museum with two locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near the Walt Disney Concert Hall. MOCA's ori ...

opened ''Rodarte: States of Matter'', the first West Coast museum exhibition of the Rodarte's fashion and costume designs from Fall 2008, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, and pieces from the film ''Black Swan''. In 2011, the

(LACMA) acquired the Rodarte Spring 2012 couture collection. LACMA displayed the renaissance-inspired clothing in their Italian renaissance gallery, alongside Italian renaissance artworks, in the exhibition ''Rodarte: Fra Angelico Collection'' from December 2011 to February 2012.

Accolades

Kate and Laura Mulleavy were one of the 50 recipients to win the 2009 United States Artists Fellowship. Rodarte was Cooper Hewitt's

National Design Awards The American National Design Awards, founded in 2000, are various awards funded and bestowed by the Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. There are seven official design categories, and three additional awards when applicable. Any supplement ...

Fashion Design Finalist in 2009 and winner in 2010. Rodarte is the first fashion house to be awarded the National Art Award from

Americans for the Arts Americans for the Arts is a nonprofit organization whose primary focus is advancing the arts in the United States with offices in Washington, D.C., and New York City, and more than 50 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to repre ...

in 2010. The award is a custom

Jeff Koons Jeffrey Lynn Koons (; born January 21, 1955) is an American artist recognized for his work dealing with popular culture and his sculptures depicting everyday objects, including balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror- finish s ...

gold bunny sculpture. Rodarte is awarded the Star Honoree Award from Fashion Group International in 2011. Rodarte was named one of

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is an American business magazine published monthly in print and online, focusing on technology, business, and design. It releases six print issues annually. History ''Fast Company'' was founded in November 1995 by Alan Webb ...

’s 50 Designers Shaping The Future in October 2012. In May 2014, Rodarte's short film directed by Todd Cole is awarded the People's Choice

Webby Award The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...

for Branded Scripted Entertainment. *2014 Webby Award People's Choice- Branded Scripted Entertainment- Won *2011 Fashion Group International's Star Honoree Award- Won *2010 National Art Award from Americans for the Arts- Won *2010 Cooper Hewitt National Design Awards- Won *2009 United States Artists Fellowships Recipient *2009 CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year - Won *2008 CFDA Swarovski Award for Womenswear - Won *2008 Stella Swiss Textiles Award - Won *2006 Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Award - Won

References

External links