Looking Back on Rodarte

[Scott]

Since the launch of their label Rodarte in 2005, sibling design team Kate and Laura Mulleavy have pursued a singular, intensely personal vision, becoming two of the most original designers working today. The Californian duo have already garnered nominations for the CFDA Vogue Fund and the Swarowski Womenswear prize, as well as enthusiastic support from fans like Dita Von Teese and Kim Gordon.

Their creations beautifully tread the line between art and fashion, distinguished by meticulous detail and exquisite craftsmanship. Fittingly, the designers were asked to display their one-of-a-kind dresses in the windows of Colette during the recent Paris Couture week.“Eerie and bewitching” was how Bat For Lashes’ Natasha Khan described their darkly romantic A/W 08 collection. Inspired by Japanese horror films, the airy dreaminess that is the Rodarte signature took on a nightmarish quality, as models stalked the runway “like technicolour zombie ballerinas” in slashes of blood red fabric, cobweb lace tights and spiked heels. In perfectly capturing the gothic mood of the season, Rodarte have made the leap from cult designers to shining stars of the fashion scene.

In an exclusive feature for Dazed Digital, Kate and Laura have handpicked some of their favourite pieces from their archive, illustrated by these previously unpublished photos featuring the model Irina Lazareanu.

“These images seemed exciting and special to us because we realized that Irina has been in every single one of our runway shows. On top of that, when we were going through our best friend Autumn de Wilde’s photographs, we realized that Irina has worn many of our favourite looks.”

Colette Window

you can check the photo montages at http://www.dazeddigital.com

 

[PetitLapinVegan]

It was an even more beautiful display in person! I actually tried on one of the dresses at Colette during Couture Week... although it was a webby knit one.

I later tried the same dress again at Jeffrey in NYC too. Although Colette had a much more alluring and moving spectacle of an arrangement. Sarah simply is the best curatorial eye in the industry!

 

[chessmess]

i think this most recent season was not enough of a development for them.
i hope they really bring it in spring.

 

[BerlinRocks]

There's no general Rodarte thread ... So I don't know where to post that ...
But here are informations about the launch of a book about Rodarte

The first publication to examine the fashion design work and conceptual world of Rodarte.
This volume is created in collaboration with two of the art world's most sought-after and highly acclaimed photographers, Catherine Opie and Alec Soth. Each photographer, in collaboration with Kate and Laura Mulleavy, has developed an entirely new body of work specifically for the book, examining various facets of Rodarte's creative spectrum.
Limited edition.
California Condors, Boris Karloff as Frankenstein, Japanese horror films, and Gordon Matta-Clark have served as some of the various influences that make up the daring world of Rodarte. In only five years, Rodarte has upended the fashion scene, bringing Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the designers behind Rodarte, to the forefront of the discussion about contemporary design and visual culture.
Kate and Laura, who live and work between downtown Los Angeles and Pasadena, California, were educated at the University of California at Berkeley and have consistently brought their love of nature, film, art, and science to bear in their unconventional and exquisitely crafted collections for Rodarte. Burning, sanding, dyeing, knitting, twisting, staining, and weaving are some of the many complex techniques that have entered into the Rodarte textural vocabulary. Kate and Laura's past collaborations with artists, actors, musicians, and writers such as Miranda July, Ryan McGinley, Autumn de Wilde, Ari Marcopoulos, and Natalie Portman have set them apart since the beginning of their career.

Edited by Brian Phillips.
Texts by John Kelsey, Catherine Opie, Alec Soth.

Graphic design: Patrick Li of Li Inc.

2011
English edition
21,5 x 28 cm (hardcover)
176 pages (100 color ill.)
52 €
ISBN: 978-3-03764-122-4
EAN: 9783037641224

and here is the link to order it :
http://www.lespressesdureel.com/EN/ouvrage.php?id=1852&menu=

and before non french or non europeans ask, here are the informations about shipping :

Shipping is free over 69 € (for non-professionals). Under this amount, it is calculated according to geographic area (12% of the total amount for France, 22% for European community, 28% for other countries – we ship worldwide), and precised before validating the order.
Orders are sent within 2 working days, from the reception of the payment (see the payment informations page), by regular mail (delivery times depend on the location); please contact us if you wish it to be delivered in priority.

 

[ultramarine]

Wait. They're from California? I swear to God I thought they were from Texas, which I thought twas weird when I heard of them and then saw their designs.

Im happy to see a thread about the Mulleavys ... esp because on the beginning I didnt "get" the appeal until I saw the collection posted on the opening post for this thread. I love em to bits.

 

[Melly5525]

Loved them since their first collection, what theyve accomplished in only 5 years is truly astonishing. The Collette window is brilliant, i love that collection. Would die to get my hands on this book.