Kate and Laura Mulleavy

{{Infobox person

| name = Kate Mulleavy

| birth_name = Katherine Marie Mulleavy

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|2|11}}

| birth_place = Oakland, California, U.S.

| years_active = 2005–present

}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Laura Mulleavy

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1980|8|31}}

| birth_place = Pasadena, California, U.S.

| years_active = 2005–present

}}

Katherine "Kate" Mulleavy (born February 11, 1979) and Laura Mulleavy (born August 31, 1980) are American fashion designers and filmmakers who founded the fashion label Rodarte in 2005. In addition to their work in fashion, the sisters have also ventured into film, writing and directing their first feature, Woodshock (2017), as well as co-designing costumes in the 2010 horror film Black Swan.

Early life

Katherine Marie Mulleavy was born in 1979 in Oakland, California,{{cite web|work=San Francisco Magazine|url=https://www.modernluxury.com/san-francisco/story/rodarte-kate-laura-mulleavy|title=Rodarte|date=August 28, 2008|author=Melendez, Franklin|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190915074543/https://www.modernluxury.com/san-francisco/story/rodarte-kate-laura-mulleavy|archive-date=September 15, 2019|access-date=September 15, 2019|url-status=live}} and her sister, Laura Mulleavy, was born the following year in Pasadena.{{cite web|work=California Birth Index|url=https://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/katherine_marie_mulleavy_born_1979_14143209|title=Katherine Marie Mulleavy|accessdate=November 28, 2017}}{{cite book|title=The Good, Bad, Ugly|date=15 January 2011 |editor=Ashley, Autumn|page=15|url=https://issuu.com/autumnash/docs/mock|accessdate=November 28, 2017}} They were raised in Northern California, growing up in Aptos, a town near Santa Cruz. Their mother, Victoria Rodart, is an artist of Mexican-Italian ancestry, and their father, William Perry Mulleavy, is a mycologist of Irish descent.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/style/2012/03/rodarte-201203|title=The Rodarte Effect|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=February 9, 2012|accessdate=November 20, 2017|author=Perez, Eugenia}}{{cite web|title=Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the sisters behind Rodarte, move into film with 'Woodshock'|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-mulleavy-sisters-rodarte-woodshock-20170922-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 22, 2017|accessdate=December 6, 2017|author=Kaufman, Amy}} Both sisters attended the University of California, Berkeley with Laura studying English literature and Kate studying art history.{{cite magazine|magazine=The New Yorker|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/01/18/twisted-sisters|title=Twisted Sisters|author=Fortini, Amanda|date=January 18, 2010|accessdate=December 5, 2017}}

Rodarte

In 2001, the sisters graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and returned to their family home in Pasadena, California, where they began to work on establishing their own clothing line, waitressing and selling personal items to accrue funds. The sisters founded the fashion line Rodarte, it was named after the original Spanish pronunciation of their mother's maiden name, Rodart. They began independently, crafting a capsule collection of seven dresses and two coats in 2004. Their work was featured in a February 2005 issue of Women's Wear Daily, which caught the attention of Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who traveled to Los Angeles to meet with the sisters in person. Wintour became a public supporter of the label, featuring their work in numerous issues of Vogue.

In 2007 and 2009, respectively, Rodarte produced two limited-run lines of clothing with Gap and Target.{{cite web|work=The Cut|url=https://www.thecut.com/2009/12/rodarte_for_target_1.html|date=December 3, 2009|title=The Full Rodarte for Target Look Book, With Prices|author=O'Dell, Amy|accessdate=December 6, 2017}}

Film and other ventures

In 2010, the Mulleavy sisters had their first foray into film, collaborating with costume designer Amy Westcott on some of the costumes for the movie Black Swan.{{cite web|last1=Milligan|first1=Lauren|title=Rodarte Row|url=http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2011/02/01/rodarte-black-swan-controversy-costume-designer|accessdate=November 30, 2017|work=Vogue UK|date=February 1, 2011}} In May 2015, the sisters announced that they had written a film script entitled Woodshock which was purchased by distribution company A24; the film, released in September 2017, stars Kirsten Dunst.{{cite news|first=Pamela|last=McClintock|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-rodarte-sisters-kate-laura-794294|title=Cannes: Rodarte Sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy Directing First Feature (Exclusive)|accessdate=May 26, 2015|date=May 11, 2015|work=The Hollywood Reporter}}