Katherine "Kate" Mulleavy and Laura Mulleavy 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.
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.
Both sisters attended the University of California, Berkeley with Laura studying English literature and Kate studying art history.