fashionologie

Take a Peek at the Full Fall 2011 Rodarte for Opening Ceremony Collection

fashionologie — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 08:05:40 PDT

>> After teaming up with Opening Ceremony last season for the lower-priced and more everyday wearable Rodarte for Opening Ceremony collection, Kate and Laura Mulleavy are back for another round for Fall 2011. Full of silk prints, cable-knit sweaters, and pinafore-inspired dresses, a preview of the Scandinavia-inspired collection - modeled by twins Gwen and Donna Loos, and hitting stores and online in early October - in the slideshow.

Photos by Autumn de Wilde

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Peep the Exclusive Pieces from the Rodarte Pitti Presentation

fashionologie — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:23:31 PDT

>> Kate and Laura Mulleavy are huge fans of Florence. “We have spent countless hours dreaming of the poetic city, every detail magnified by our own curiosity and imagination,” explains Laura. Fitting then, that they are guest designers at Pitt W in Florence this year. Today, their much anticipated Pre-Spring 2012 presentation of 10 elaborate gowns - detailed with Swarovski crystals, tulle, and feathers - was unveiled in a disused building in central Florence amongst neon light constructions. Inspired by Fra Angelico’s frescoes, the monks’ cells at the convent of San Marco, and Bernini’s The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, the 10 dresses are also accessorized with a hand-forged gold head-piece, belts and breastplates. But what will happen to the collection after this stint in Italy? Elle confirms that following Pitti, the dresses will be on permanent display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Until then, click through to see the pieces here.

Photos by Autumn de Wilde. Courtesy of Rodarte and Pitti Immagine

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Rodarte Now Shoppable Online at Net-a-Porter

fashionologie — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 09:32:11 PDT

>> Rodarte's collaboration with Opening Ceremony is readily available online, but now the label's runway pieces can also be bought with the swipe of a mouse. Net-a-Porter just launched a Rodarte boutique featuring a selection of six pieces from Laura and Kate Mulleavy's Spring 2011 collection - the first collection with an eye to the more everyday wearable - and a $2,325 delft print skirt has already sold out.

Tom Ford, Rodarte Get Oscar Speech Shout-outs

fashionologie — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 07:06:02 PST

>> Last night, three designers were name checked during Oscar acceptance speeches. Natalie Portman, who wore Rodarte last night, thanked "Kate and Laura Mulleavy, who designed the beautiful ballet costumes [in Black Swan]" after winning Best Actress, as two of those "people on films that no one ever talks about that are your heart and soul every day." And Colin Firth, who worked with Tom Ford on A Single Man, mentioned during his Best Actor speech - for The King's Speech - that he was grateful for his "very fortunate friendship with Tom Ford, to whom I owe a very big piece of this."

Rodarte Is Ineligible For an Oscar Nomination For Black Swan

fashionologie — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:45:21 PST

>> Rodarte's Laura and Kate Mulleavy created 40 ballet costumes, plus all of Natalie Portman's knitwear and dresses, for Black Swan, but don't expect them to receive any nod from Oscar. If anyone gets an Oscar nomination for costuming the film, it will be Black Swan costume designer Amy Westcott, who received the "costumes by" front credit. The Mulleavys didn't negotiate a credit as part of their initial deal, and they weren't members of the Costume Designers Guild at the time (only guild members are eligible for nominations, and the sisters have since joined). The Mulleavys recently said they're open to more film costuming opportunities, however. [The Hollywood Reporter via Fashionista]

Peek the Fall/Winter 2010 Issue of Lula Magazine Rodarte's Laura and Kate Mulleavy Guest Edited

fashionologie — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 13:01:04 PST

>> Tom Ford guest edited the most recent Vogue Paris, but he's not the only designer with an issue on newsstands. Rodarte's Laura and Kate Mulleavy guest edited the Fall/Winter 2010 issue of Lula, in which they styled Kirsten Dunst in an editorial photographed by their friend and backstage photographer Autumn de Wllde, dressed Charlotte Gainsbourg for the Nan Goldin-shot cover, and asked Tavi Gevinson and Sofia Coppola to contribute. Some highlights from the issue in the gallery, plus more here.

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Rodarte's Laura and Kate Mulleavy Are Open to Costuming More Films in the Future

fashionologie — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 07:26:53 PST

>> Thanks to Natalie Portman, who introduced Laura and Kate Mulleavy to Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky (whose film they ultimately created 40 costumes for, as well as the knitwear worn throughout), the Rodarte designers seem to be hooked on costuming for movies. "What’s interesting is that, as designers, our job is something so seasonal,” Laura said. “You finish a show and you’re already thinking about your next one. In film, you make pieces of clothing that go down in history. It’s been very, very exciting for us.” And would they do it again? “This was a magic combination of all the people involved, but we’re definitely open to doing it again.” [WWD]

Rodarte Used Floorboards to Make Their Spring 2011 Prints, Spent a Month Looking for the Right Button

fashionologie — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 12:20:39 PDT

>> Laura and Kate Mulleavy recently announced that they're collaborating with Opening Ceremony on womenswear, menswear, shoes, handbags, eyewear, hosiery for Spring under the label Rodarte for Opening Ceremony. Laura sat down with the retailer to talk about creating prints for their own label - "For the new [Spring 2011] collection, we did about 20 prints and 12 of them were off '70s wood paneling, different floorboards" - and their month-long quest for the right button: "We used a button for the first time, and that was traumatic! We needed one for this pair of shorts because it looked cute. And I hate buttons. So, we looked for buttons for a month at every source of buttons in the world and we never found one we liked. So, eventually I was talking to this tailor when I was picking up my dry cleaning, and I was like, 'Well, what do guys use for buttons?' and he said, 'Just make a covered button.' So, that's what we did. But it was flat, so it doesn't look like anything!"

She also explained how the Black Swan collaboration came about: "Someone in LA said to us, 'I don't know if you've heard about this secret script that's going around Hollywood, but I think it would be perfect for you to do something with this film.' It's basically a ballet horror film, which we had done a whole collection of. It went really well. I think what we do aesthetically worked for what he needed for the film. It's like a whole Swan Lake with a demon and everything, it's really cool. I think when you see it, you're gonna freak out."

Rodarte Goes Wearable, Commercial for Spring 2011

fashionologie — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 21:14:15 PDT

>> Just weeks after rumors of a possible acquisition by LVMH came up, Rodarte shows their most wearable, commercial collection ever. As WWD notes: "One can’t help wonder if [in light of those rumors], this was their merch-meets-Mulleavy audition."

Inspired by Northern California, its redwood forests, and its cultural links to Japan and China, Laura and Kate Mulleavy sent out parquet-printed dresses - “We’ve been sending wood panels to Italy for the prints," Kate explained - and blue and white floral china-patterned gowns that had a Eastern quality to them. “We wanted the dresses,” Laura said, “to look like vases.” Kate added: “There are a lot of different elements [and] this is our amalgamation." They created all the fabrics themselves.

Kim Gordon, Spike Jonze, Kanye West, and Elijah Wood were all present for the spectacle, and friend of Rodarte Autumn de Wilde was busy filming for the brand, as guests were warned. Afterward, Eric Wilson writes, the designers "could not even take their bow before they were overwhelmed by a rush of editors and retailers praising them to the heavens."

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fashionologie — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 22:06:00 PDT

>> Rodarte Reportedly Bans Pre-Show Backstage Press -Rodarte is known for their innovative makeup looks, but it sounds like there will be no peeks for the press until the models hit the runway tomorrow. Word is Laura and Kate Mulleavy have banned backstage access for beauty press this season. Some have speculated it's because the shows looks will be even more elaborate than usual. Perhaps they don't want anything to leak on Twitter beforehand. But one insider seems to think otherwise: "It's because Rodarte is furious with MAC for canceling their collection." And no beauty press backstage means fewer MAC mentions.