Mixing family and business can be as potentially disastrous as pairing plaids and stripes, or attempting to work a Philip Treacy chapeau into your everyday wardrobe. And this fact has long been true in the fashion industry, where design teams consisting solely of siblings, or parents and their scions, are hard to come by... and those comprised only of sisters, seemingly less so. That is, until now. A slew of lines spearheaded by sisters are taking the fashion industry by storm. From accessories to knitwear, low-end to high-end, sisterhood is making a sartorial comeback. Here, psychoPEDIA narrows its gaze on five brands - based from Pasadena to Stockholm - which bring new meaning to the phrase ‘family affair.’

Rodarte
Perhaps the most famous of any of the fashion industry’s sibling designer sets, Rodarte is the brainchild of Laura and Kate Mulleavy. Since launching their line in 2005, the West Coast-based duo has won the hearts of the likes of Karl Lagerfeld and Anna Wintour, and scored a highly coveted CFDA nomination. Their intricate, artistic designs, combined with an imaginative, often varied range of influences, have helped the Mulleavy sisters cultivate a unique aesthetic. Their handcrafted cocktail dresses and separates, which rival couture with regard to construction, recall an ephemeral sense of romanticism. Word has it the girls still share a bedroom in their parents’ Pasadena house, meaning they’re not just talented – they’re seriously close.

Lizzie Fortunato
Duke grads Lizzie and Kathryn Fortunato launched their whimsical jewelry line back in high school. By the time they were in college, they were selling their namesake woven rope earrings, braided necklaces and intricately adorned breastplates out of their dorm room. Fast forward to today: the sisters’ fantastical designs have made waves as far as NYC, the fashion capital Lizzie and Kathryn now call home. Renowned for idiosyncratic creations that often involve unexpected elements (think toys and trinkets), the Fortunatos show no signs of slowing down. Come this fall, the duo will make its NY Fashion Week debut, adorning runway looks from Victoria Bartlett’s VPL.

House of Dagmar
The Swedish fashion community has made quite a collective international impression lately. Thanks to local lines like Cheap Monday and ACNE, Stockholm is fast becoming a fashion capital. And newcomer House of Dagmar is poised to further the trend. Spearheaded by sisters Kristina Tjader, Sofia Malm and Karin Soderlind, the line is inspired by their late grandmother – think an eclectic, feminine range of chic silhouettes. House of Dagmar, which began as knitwear, has since expanded to include jumpers, pants and skirts in canvases, cotton and cashmere. The line is available stateside at Opening Ceremony in NYC and LA.

Stretsis
For Pim, Kly and Matina Sukhahuta, the sisters behind this NYC-based line, their familial bond is as essential to the line as its sleek, wearable aesthetic. Take the unique moniker Stretsis for example (it’s simply “sisters” spelled backwards). The Thailand-bred Sukhahuta sisters joined sartorial forces when, in the midst of pursuing her design degree at Parsons in NYC, Pim was offered a retail space at Gaysorn (an upscale shopping center in Bangkok). Kly and Matina hopped on board to handle PR/marketing and accessories, respectively. Since then the sisters have made waves from the fashion industry to Hollywood, where their designs have been spotted on the likes of ‘it’ girl Daisy Lowe and Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester. Stretsis is stocked at Intermix and Takashimaya in NYC, as well as Milk and Bleu in LA.

Tuleste Market
What began as rental service – sisters Satu and Celeste Greenberg started Tuleste Market as a means of renting out vintage clothing and costume jewelry to fashion designers – has since launched a line of one-of-a-kind re-worked vintage items and original clothing and accessories. Taking inspiration from a cross-country trip, the Greenberg sisters have created a jewelry collection that pays homage to a range of places – Art Deco to Native American art. Tuleste Market is available at Intermix in NYC and LA, and online at Shopbop.

~ Alisa Gould-Simon