Rodarte

Laura and Kate Mulleavy didn't have any qualifications or formal fashion training as designers when they decided to take the small 10 piece collection they had 'dreamed up' to New York in 2005, in the hope of making it in the fashion business. They'd made no appointments with buyers or fashion editors, sending out handmade invites to their hotel suite to view their collection on paper dolls. Luckily someone from industry bible Women's Wear Daily discovered them and the rest, as they say is history.

The girls are now the toast of the fashion industry - admired by everyone from Chanel designer Karl Largerfeld to actress Keira Knightly, who wore one of the girl's dream like creations to the premier of Attonment, cementing Rodarte as the label on everyone's lips.

The sisters who are often mistaken for twins, design with couture sensibilities rarely seen at the ready-to wear collections. Inspired by their idyllic childhood in Northern California, filled with days at the beach or playing in fields they named their label after their Native American grandfather and still live with their parents, around the corner from their grandma's house in Pasadena, California.

But they're not your average California girls, in fact they don't wear dresses ever! (Not even their own.) Their friend, the owner of the famous L.A vintage store Decades describes them as ' nerdy interlectuals, not fashionistas', which is suprising as they are creating some of the most exciting fashion to be seen at New York Fashion Week, where they have shown since spring/summer 2006.

Their signature look is etheral, elegant and perfectly crafted - always featuring intricate needlework and the finest fabrics the girls can find.(Which is probably why a Rodarte dress will set you back around £20,000!) Their spring/summer 08 collection perfectly summed up fashion's new mood for spring, light and romantic, and was so heavenly it looked as if it might actually float right off the catwalk.

For more on Rodarte pick up this month's issue of Elle or Click here to see the collection.