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Rodarte's Ballet
DESIGNING the costumes for Natalie Portman's new film, Black Swan, seemed like a natural career step for design duo Rodarte.
"It's actually a very amazing, kind of big moment for us," says half of the design duo Laura Mulleavy. "I think our aesthetic naturally fits into the film and I think it was an interesting thing to have someone say, 'Help us say this thing.' It didn't feel difficult at all. It was very natural. It was one of the most exciting things for us to do because the end project was breathtaking."
The collaboration came about after Portman introduced the Rodarte sisters to the film's director Darren Aronofsky. Laura describes the process as "a meeting of the minds" and says creating the tutu's wasn't easy.
"Building a tutu is one of the lost couture arts," she told the New York Magazine. "Everyone will know it's like getting your hand on the prize, like a coveted piece of couture that no one ever gets to see. It's very interesting, the dance world. You can't go rent a tutu. You have to own it. And every ballet theatre has an archive and everything is stored and kept perfect. They're worn over time and they're ruined and they have slits and eyes in different spots, so they're never actually perfect, but from afar, when you're in the audience, it looks like one of the most beautiful things in the world. So our job then was to create tutus that were beautiful, but then they had to function completely. A tutu is thirteen layers of tulle sticking straight out and then it's over the body, so you can imagine. It's crazy!"
So will the pair be eligible for an Oscar in costume design?
"I have no idea," said Laura. "That would be pretty cool."
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