Laura Mulleavy

Their story is like a "once upon a time," but envision Cinderella in a lace gown that's been painted on by Caravaggio and then run through a paper shredder. There are actually two Cinderellas, Kate (with bangs) and Laura Mulleavy, sisters who don't yet have 60 birthdays between them. They famously still live with their parents in Pasadena, and in half a dozen years, the exquisite, subversive couture of their Rodarte label, created and produced in their downtown L.A. studios, has taxed the style cliches of critics and fashion lovers alike (see the fashions at latimes.com/rodarte )

Designer, retailer and Hollywood royalty Jennifer Nicholson, who once headlined Los Angeles Fashion Week and showed her collections in New York, has returned to fashion after a nearly five-year hiatus. Her new venture is Pearl Drop, a Venice boutique with a "boho goddess festival vibe," opened just in time to dress customers for this month's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, one of Nicholson's favorite springtime excursions. Located on Lincoln Boulevard in the up-and-coming retail area known as the Linc that's become an alternative to crowded Abbot Kinney, Pearl Drop showcases mostly California-based labels, plus pieces that Nicholson has designed herself under the Pearl Drop label.

Designer, retailer and Hollywood royalty Jennifer Nicholson, who once headlined Los Angeles Fashion Week and showed her collections in New York, has returned to fashion after a nearly five-year hiatus. Her new venture is Pearl Drop, a Venice boutique with a "boho goddess festival vibe," opened just in time to dress customers for this month's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, one of Nicholson's favorite springtime excursions. Located on Lincoln Boulevard in the up-and-coming retail area known as the Linc that's become an alternative to crowded Abbot Kinney, Pearl Drop showcases mostly California-based labels, plus pieces that Nicholson has designed herself under the Pearl Drop label.

NEW YORK -- The tie-dye gowns were to die for, and could only have come from one place -- California. Los Angeles-based designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy showed their fall-winter 2013 Rodarte collection Tuesday afternoon in a Chelsea studio space, with Dan Flavin-like fluorescent tubes creating a colorful light show for models to walk through. The inspiration: Santa Cruz, where the designers grew up. The look: A magical melding of counterculture style, hippies, Dead Heads, Goths, Hells Angel bikers, yogis, beach bums and all. This collection was out there all right, from silk charmeuse and sheer tulle jumpsuits with angel wing embroideries on the backs, to fringy, DIY-style, crystal-embroidered macrame sweater and knit skirt combos.

NEW YORK -- Rodarte designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy showed a bejeweled, brocaded and bewitching spring-summer 2013 women's collection during New York Fashion Week. The inspiration: "Fantasy role-playing games," Laura Mulleavy explained backstage after the show. "Especially the '80s versions. " Photos: NYFW Week celebrity sightings The first words out of my mouth -- especially given the metal dragon earrings snaking around the ears of each model -- was "Dungeons & Dragons," but Mulleavy shook her head.

When you hire Frank Gehry to design a set for an opera production, you can be sure the famed architect won't deliver anything remotely conventional or literal-minded. Gehry's set for Mozart's "Don Giovanni" finally met the public on Friday at the first performance of the new production by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The elaborate set had been kept under tight wraps by orchestra officials until the production premiered over the weekend. The Los Angeles architect created towering abstract shapes that served as the backdrop for the story of a lothario's comeuppance.

Los Angeles Opera can stop worrying right now. The Los Angeles Philharmonic's new production of Mozart's "Don Giovanni," which had its first of four performances Friday night at Walt Disney Concert Hall, is certainly getting all the attention at the moment and for all the obvious and all the right reasons. The hall's architect, Frank Gehry, has designed stunning sets. The fashion world, long enamored of Disney, is involved, with powerfully theatrical costumes from Rodarte and hairstyles by Odile Gilbert.

Singer Pink is the latest CoverGirl celebrity brand ambassador. Her "appointment" to the post was announced Monday in Santa Monica. [WWD] (Subscription required.) New details are out about the dress Natalie Portman wore when she married choreographer Benjamin Millepied on Saturday. The 1950s-reminiscent tea-length dress reportedly was designed by Rodarte. Not a surprise, because the label's design team, Kate and Laura Mulleavy, designed some of the costumes for "Black Swan," upon whose set the couple met and fell in love.

  In New York, Los Angeles fashion has come of age. New York Fashion Week, which kicked off Wednesday with more than 300 fashion shows and presentations scheduled to take place in the coming days, is not just a platform for New York designers to gain media attention and retail orders. It's a showcase for designers from all over the world - and, notably this year, Los Angeles, which now has a breadth of talent to rival any major fashion city. Twenty years ago, Los Angeles had a reputation for producing clothing that was casual, comfortable and wearable, but not necessarily innovative or runway-worthy.

Armani, Lagerfeld, Prada, Versace — some of fashion's leading designers have ventured into the world of opera, dressing divas and devils at venues such as La Scala and the Met. The trend, which began in the '80s, "has gone crescendo," says Helena Matheopoulos, who describes the couture-costume connection in the new book "Fashion Designers at the Opera" (Thames & Hudson). The London-based Matheopoulos, a former Tatler fashion editor and author of several opera books, focuses on a dozen designers.

Singer Pink is the latest CoverGirl celebrity brand ambassador. Her "appointment" to the post was announced Monday in Santa Monica. [WWD] (Subscription required.) New details are out about the dress Natalie Portman wore when she married choreographer Benjamin Millepied on Saturday. The 1950s-reminiscent tea-length dress reportedly was designed by Rodarte. Not a surprise, because the label's design team, Kate and Laura Mulleavy, designed some of the costumes for "Black Swan," upon whose set the couple met and fell in love.

When you hire Frank Gehry to design a set for an opera production, you can be sure the famed architect won't deliver anything remotely conventional or literal-minded. Gehry's set for Mozart's "Don Giovanni" finally met the public on Friday at the first performance of the new production by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The elaborate set had been kept under tight wraps by orchestra officials until the production premiered over the weekend. The Los Angeles architect created towering abstract shapes that served as the backdrop for the story of a lothario's comeuppance.

Los Angeles Opera can stop worrying right now. The Los Angeles Philharmonic's new production of Mozart's "Don Giovanni," which had its first of four performances Friday night at Walt Disney Concert Hall, is certainly getting all the attention at the moment and for all the obvious and all the right reasons. The hall's architect, Frank Gehry, has designed stunning sets. The fashion world, long enamored of Disney, is involved, with powerfully theatrical costumes from Rodarte and hairstyles by Odile Gilbert.

  In New York, Los Angeles fashion has come of age. New York Fashion Week, which kicked off Wednesday with more than 300 fashion shows and presentations scheduled to take place in the coming days, is not just a platform for New York designers to gain media attention and retail orders. It's a showcase for designers from all over the world - and, notably this year, Los Angeles, which now has a breadth of talent to rival any major fashion city. Twenty years ago, Los Angeles had a reputation for producing clothing that was casual, comfortable and wearable, but not necessarily innovative or runway-worthy.

Armani, Lagerfeld, Prada, Versace — some of fashion's leading designers have ventured into the world of opera, dressing divas and devils at venues such as La Scala and the Met. The trend, which began in the '80s, "has gone crescendo," says Helena Matheopoulos, who describes the couture-costume connection in the new book "Fashion Designers at the Opera" (Thames & Hudson). The London-based Matheopoulos, a former Tatler fashion editor and author of several opera books, focuses on a dozen designers.

Their story is like a "once upon a time," but envision Cinderella in a lace gown that's been painted on by Caravaggio and then run through a paper shredder. There are actually two Cinderellas, Kate (with bangs) and Laura Mulleavy, sisters who don't yet have 60 birthdays between them. They famously still live with their parents in Pasadena, and in half a dozen years, the exquisite, subversive couture of their Rodarte label, created and produced in their downtown L.A. studios, has taxed the style cliches of critics and fashion lovers alike (see the fashions at latimes.com/rodarte )

NOT everyone's gotten the memo yet, but the dress code from Echo Park nightclubs to Culver City galleries is changing. A renewed elegance is replacing L.A.'s relaxed signature style, thanks in part to a rising school of designers bent on creating clothes as sophisticated as they are beautifully made. The city's restaurant, architecture and art scenes have grown up, motivating women who once would have gone everywhere in jeans to up their game.

Rodarte's Kate and Laura Mulleavy, based in Pasadena, are the next designers to collaborate with Target for its GO International collection. Rodarte fans should set the alarm for next Sunday morning when Rodarte for Target officially launches in stores and at Target online -- the limited-edition collections usually clear out well before the end of a month-long run. Rodarte, the maiden name of the Mulleavys' mom, has taken off since its debut during...