The eye-popping, incredible Rodarte exhibition of gowns and apparel, designed by the hot costumers of stage and screen, the Mulleavy sisters, will enjoy its last day at the National Museum of Women in the Arts on Sunday.
For anyone remotely interested in design, the combination of nature and costuming, fashion, creativity, and women's gowns, this is must-see. To miss it is to deprive yourself of one of the most spectacular shows in the history of the Women's Museum.
Rodarte is the first fashion exhibition at NMWA where the Mulleavys say they "are honored to be the first designers" featured.
The name of the house built by Kate (b. 1979) and Laura (b. 1980) comes from their mother's maiden name, Rodarte.
Sounds rather Italian, doesn't it?
The museum's Fall 2018 issue of Women in the Arts quotes Kate Mulleavy: "There is probably a little bit of California's natural beauty in every one of our collections," and Laura Mulleavy: "Nature inspires our choice of colors and the way we build garments" incorporating flowers and other natural plants and pieces found outdoors.
Like Sean Scully whose Landline series stemmed from memories of his childhood in Dublin, Ireland and the natural lines of sea and horizon, the sisters credit nature and the outdoors where they played as children for the source of many of their creations.
Growing up, the sisters' stomping grounds lay between San Francisco and Monterey, and the two also had access to film production lots, another source of inspiration. Their college educations in art history (Kate) and literature (Laura) served as springboards to possibilities and adaptations, strengthening their inclinations to use natural elements and what lay around them.
Jill D'Alessandro, the guest curator from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, wrote that when "Rodarte burst onto the scene in 2005," the house took "the fashion and art world by surprise with their deeply personal and conceptual approach to fashion design."
Almost 100 creations spanning the life of Rodarte define the show with the most enthralling gallery, the last, the garden room, filled with florals and outrageous combinations and flaming colors. It's rather like a giant dollhouse of science fiction, life size mannequins in a fairy land at the height of femininity. Another world, adopting the station of womanhood and submission from centuries ago, to women dressed today romantically and idealistically to fit conceptions of what could be.
Star Wars gowns at the Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie 
Please, come and compare your impressions to mine and write soon.
Virginia Treanor, associate curator at the NMWA, assisted with production of the exhibition.
What: Rodarte
When: Through Sunday, February 10, 2019. The National Museum of Women in the Arts is open Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sundays, 12-5 p.m.
Where: The National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005
Admission: $10, adults; $8, seniors and students; and free for members and children, 18 and under.
On the first Sunday of each month, "Community Day," there is no charge for admission.
For more information: 202-783-5000 or visit nmwa.org.
Metro stations: Metro Center (exit at 13th Street and walk two blocks north) or walk a short distance from McPherson Square.
patricialesli@gmail.com
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