Pasadena Sisters Win Honors
The California-based designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy are among a handful of creators to win an Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation award for emerging designers.
The 20-something sisters, whose label Rodarte is based in Pasadena, Calif., are relatively new to the fashion scene. The line is named after their grandfather, a Zacatecan coal miner who immigrated to the United States from Mexico during the Mexican Revolution.
They are known for their mostly bias-cut dresses and wispy fabric. The graduates of the University of California, Berkeley, received a $25,000 grant to showcase their collection during New York Fashion Week in February.
This is the fifth year that Ecco Domani Wines of Italy has handed out fashion awards. The awards have helped launch the careers of such designers as Zac Posen, Proenza Schouler and Derek Lam. Last year, Los Angeles–based designer Jasmin Shokrian and Orange County label Trovata were among the winners.
“The 2006 competition was by far the most difficult, with more applications than in years past and a dramatic increase in the overall caliber of entries,” said Marylou Luther, a former Los Angeles Times fashion editor who was one of the judges and is now an editor at The International Fashion Syndicate.
The other winners, all based in New York, included:
bull; Brian Reyes, who creates elegant women’s clothing.
bull; Hanuk, whose designs are influenced by his South Korean background.
bull; VPL, or Visible Panty Line, founded by Victoria Bartlett in 2003.
bull; Vena Cava, created by Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai.
bull; Menswear maker Rag & Bone, founded by three young men from London: Marcus Wainwright, Nathan Bogle and David Neville.
—Deborah Belgum
