Rodarte
An American luxury fashion brand recognized for experimental, handcrafted clothing shaped by art, nature, film, and West Coast landscapes.
Last updated August 21, 2026
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Overview
Rodarte is an American luxury fashion brand founded in 2005 by sisters Kate Mulleavy and Laura Mulleavy. Based in Los Angeles, the label developed an international reputation for highly conceptual womenswear, meticulous construction, and an approach that treats fashion as a form of visual art. Its name comes from the original Spanish spelling of Rodart, the sisters’ maternal family name. The Mulleavys began developing the brand after leaving college and returning to Aptos, California. They accumulated approximately $16,500 to produce their first capsule collection, with Laura working as a waitress and Kate selling part of her rare-record collection. The initial offering consisted of only ten garments, including seven dresses and two coats. After taking the collection to New York, the sisters appeared on the cover of Women’s Wear Daily in February 2005. That exposure helped lead to a meeting with Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who traveled to Los Angeles to see their work. From the outset, Rodarte distinguished itself through labor-intensive techniques and an unconventional design vocabulary. Some garments required more than 150 hours of work. The collections have drawn on the American West Coast, deserts, forests, minerals, atmospheric effects, literature, horror cinema, anime, Gothic imagery, punk, and the sisters’ interest in the natural landscape. Their silhouettes and materials have often been described as deconstructed, fragile, theatrical, and technically demanding. The label’s work occupies a space between luxury fashion, costume, and contemporary art. Rodarte expanded its reach through selective collaborations while retaining an independent creative identity. It produced limited-edition apparel with Gap in 2007 and a separate limited-edition collection with Target in 2009. In 2010, it collaborated with M·A·C Cosmetics on a makeup range connected to its fall collection. That project generated criticism over its treatment of Ciudad Juárez and the violence experienced by women there. M·A·C and Rodarte apologized and announced a $100,000 donation to an organization intended to support women in the region. The brand’s influence is also reflected in museums and cultural institutions. Rodarte garments and related works entered the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Exhibitions and presentations included the Costume Institute’s BLOGMODE, Cooper-Hewitt’s 2010 solo exhibition, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles exhibition Rodarte: States of Matter, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts exhibition Rodarte in 2018–2019. LACMA also acquired and exhibited the brand’s Spring 2012 couture collection alongside Italian Renaissance works. Kate and Laura Mulleavy have received significant recognition, including the CFDA Swarovski Award for Womenswear, the CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year award, the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Fashion Design, the National Art Award from Americans for the Arts, and a Fashion Group International Star Honoree Award. Their work has also been associated with film and costume design, including garments connected with Black Swan. Rodarte remains identified with limited-production luxury fashion, strong artistic authorship, and a highly distinctive relationship between clothing and contemporary culture.
History
Kate and Laura Mulleavy developed Rodarte after leaving college and returning to their family home in Aptos, California. Before establishing the label, they spent several years saving the money required to make an initial collection. Laura worked as a waitress, while Kate sold rare records, and together they accumulated approximately $16,500. The resulting first collection contained ten garments: seven dresses and two coats. The label’s name uses the original Spanish spelling of Rodart, their mother’s maiden name. In early 2005, the sisters took their small collection to New York. Their appearance on the cover of Women’s Wear Daily in February brought them immediate attention and contributed to a meeting with Vogue editor Anna Wintour. Rather than following the conventional path of joining an established fashion house, the Mulleavys continued to develop Rodarte independently from Los Angeles. Their early work attracted attention for its unusual proportions, delicate materials, and extraordinary production time. One chiffon dress from the 2006 collection reportedly required more than 150 hours to complete. The label’s creative language was rooted in the sisters’ California upbringing and their fascination with the natural American landscape. Over time, Rodarte collections incorporated references to deserts, forests, geological formations, fantasy, horror films, anime, Gothic culture, punk, and literature. The designs frequently combined fragile or distressed surfaces with complex construction, creating clothes that could appear both primitive and highly sophisticated. This tension between beauty, darkness, craft, and experimentation became central to the brand’s identity. Rodarte began extending its audience through carefully bounded commercial collaborations. In spring 2007, it produced a limited-edition shirt collection with Gap. In December 2009, it created another limited-edition range for Target. These projects introduced aspects of the Mulleavys’ aesthetic to broader retail audiences while remaining separate from the principal luxury collections. In fall 2010, Rodarte worked with M·A·C Cosmetics on a makeup line linked to the brand’s collection. The collaboration became controversial because of the way it drew on Ciudad Juárez, a city associated with severe violence against women. Following criticism, M·A·C and Rodarte issued an apology and announced a $100,000 donation to a nonprofit intended to assist women in the region. Rodarte’s relationship with the art world developed alongside its fashion business. The designers were featured in Artforum in 2008, an unusual distinction for fashion designers. Their garments appeared in exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute and the Museum at FIT, including presentations related to luxury, Gothic fashion, and American innovation. Cooper-Hewitt mounted the brand’s first solo exhibition in 2010. In 2011, MOCA Los Angeles presented Rodarte: States of Matter, while LACMA acquired the Spring 2012 couture collection and displayed it in a Renaissance art context under the title Rodarte: Fra Angelico Collection. The designers also contributed sketches to LACMA’s Cell Phone Stories project. Rodarte’s work has been collected by major museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum, LACMA, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The brand’s garments were also included in the Metropolitan Museum’s Punk: Chaos to Couture exhibition in 2013. In 2018–2019, the National Museum of Women in the Arts presented a substantial Rodarte exhibition focused on materials, recurring themes, and the relationship between the label’s fashion and contemporary art. The Mulleavys received the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Award in 2006, the CFDA Swarovski Award for Womenswear and Stella Swiss Textiles Award in 2008, and a United States Artists Fellowship in 2009. Rodarte won the CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year award in 2009 and the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Fashion Design and National Art Award from Americans for the Arts in 2010. Further recognition included Fashion Group International’s Star Honoree Award in 2011, inclusion in Fast Company’s list of designers shaping the future in 2012, and a 2014 Webby People’s Choice Award for a branded short film. Rodarte remains an active Los Angeles-based label centered on the Mulleavys’ artistic authorship.
- 2018
National Museum of Women in the Arts exhibition
[1]The museum presented Rodarte in an exhibition examining the sisters’ design principles, materials, and recurring themes.
- 2014
Rodarte film wins a Webby People’s Choice Award
[1]A short film directed by Todd Cole for Rodarte won in the Branded Scripted Entertainment category.
- 2013
Rodarte appears in Punk: Chaos to Couture
[1]Four Rodarte looks from earlier collections were displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute’s Punk exhibition.
- 2011
MOCA presents Rodarte: States of Matter
[1]The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles presented a major exhibition of Rodarte fashion and costume designs.
- 2010
Cooper-Hewitt exhibition and National Art Award
[1]Rodarte received the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Fashion Design and the National Art Award from Americans for the Arts. Cooper-Hewitt also presented the brand’s first solo exhibition.
- 2009
Target collaboration and CFDA designer award
[1]Rodarte created limited-edition pieces for Target and won the CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year award.
- 2008
Rodarte gains major fashion recognition
[1]The label received the CFDA Swarovski Award for Womenswear and the Stella Swiss Textiles Award, and was featured in Artforum.
- 2007
Gap collaboration and museum visibility
[1]Rodarte released limited-edition shirts with Gap and appeared in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s BLOGMODE exhibition.
- 2006
Rodarte receives the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Award
[1]The young label received an early industry award recognizing its emerging fashion design.
- 2005
Rodarte is founded
[1]The sisters founded Rodarte and presented an initial ten-piece collection. Early press coverage led to a meeting with Vogue editor Anna Wintour.
Products and positioning
Independent, high-end luxury fashion with an art-fashion orientation, emphasizing experimental silhouettes, intensive handwork, theatrical presentation, and references to nature, film, literature, and the American West Coast.
Luxury ready-to-wear · 2005
Seasonal womenswear collections
Rodarte’s principal offering consists of seasonal womenswear collections designed by Kate and Laura Mulleavy. The collections combine unconventional silhouettes, elaborate surface treatments, delicate fabrics, knitwear, outerwear, and theatrical styling. Rather than relying on a single signature garment, the line is defined by an evolving conceptual world often connected to landscape, cinema, fantasy, or historical art.
Couture · 2005
Couture and couture-influenced garments
Rodarte is known for garments made with unusually intensive handwork and construction. These pieces can involve intricate embellishment, distressed or layered materials, sculptural forms, and labor-intensive finishing. The label’s couture work has been exhibited by museums and includes the Spring 2012 collection later acquired by LACMA.
Accessories
Accessories and footwear
Accessories and footwear extend Rodarte’s themes beyond clothing. The brand’s shoes and accessories have appeared in museum exhibitions alongside its apparel, often using print, unusual proportion, ornament, or references to the collection’s broader artistic concept.
Beauty collaboration · 2010
M·A·C Cosmetics collaboration
In 2010, Rodarte collaborated with M·A·C Cosmetics on a limited-edition makeup range associated with the fall 2010 collection. The project became controversial over its treatment of Ciudad Juárez and was followed by an apology and a charitable donation announcement.
Retail collaboration · 2007
Gap limited-edition collaboration
Rodarte worked with Gap on a limited-edition shirt collection released in spring 2007. It was an early example of the brand adapting its design identity for a broader retail audience.
Retail collaboration · 2009
Target limited-edition collaboration
In December 2009, Rodarte released a separate limited-edition collection through Target. The collaboration broadened access to the Mulleavys’ aesthetic while remaining distinct from the main luxury line.
Controversies
2010
Criticism of the M·A·C Ciudad Juárez-inspired collection
Critics objected to the beauty collaboration’s use of references associated with Ciudad Juárez, particularly given the city’s history of violence and sexual assault against women. M·A·C and Rodarte apologized and announced a $100,000 donation to a nonprofit intended to provide meaningful assistance to women in the region.
Marketing campaigns
- 2014Rodarte branded short film
International digital audience
Rodarte used a short film directed by Todd Cole as a branded storytelling project. The film won the People’s Choice Webby Award for Branded Scripted Entertainment.
Outcome. Award winner
Brand decisions
2010
Respond to criticism of the M·A·C collaborationStrategyBackground
The makeup collaboration was criticized for its references to Ciudad Juárez and violence against women.
Action taken
Rodarte and M·A·C issued an apology and announced a $100,000 donation to a nonprofit supporting women in the region.
Aftermath
The collaboration remained a notable controversy in the brand’s history and prompted a public corrective response.
Announced donation. 100000 USD (2010)
2009
Create a Target limited-edition collectionM&ABackground
The brand pursued another mass-retail collaboration while maintaining its independent luxury identity.
Action taken
Rodarte produced limited-edition pieces for Target.
Aftermath
The collection expanded the label’s public reach without replacing its principal luxury business.
2007
Enter a limited-edition Gap collaborationM&ABackground
Rodarte had established recognition for highly crafted luxury womenswear and chose to test a broader retail collaboration.
Action taken
The label released a limited-edition shirt collection with Gap.
Aftermath
The project became an early example of Rodarte’s selective expansion beyond its core collection.
Sources2 sources
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