On the first official day of New York Fashion Week, Rodarte already may have scored the season’s best front row, a powerhouse collection of women that included Brie Larson, Natasha Lyonne, Quinta Brunson, Beanie Feldstein, Aurora James, Rowan Blanchard and Molly Ringwald, accompanied by her 19-year-old daughter, Matilda. And for that starry group, Kate and Laura Mulleavy offered something for everyone in a show that blended elements of gothic romance, woodland fairies and ’60s-influenced styling in equal measure.

The Mulleavy sisters are often driven by art-inspired influences, and for their Fall/Winter 2023 collection, they turned to the source of that passion: their mother, Victoria, an artist whose maiden name, Rodart, spawned the brand’s appellation. “We asked our mother to create really beautiful fairies for a collection,” Laura told The Hollywood Reporter backstage after the show. “She decided to do one a day and did them all in colored pencil, and it became this amazing collection. We thought, this has to be a show, and it has to be gothic. It was a matter of seeing something, latching onto it, and enjoying the process of feeding new ideas into it.”

Presented on a runway with a gothic dining table fully embellished with silver crystals at its center, the influences in the 61-look collection undeniably were wide-ranging, from the high drama of the largely black gowns that kicked off the show, which felt reminiscent of illustrations by Charles Addams or Edward Gorey (the latter especially true of a beautiful full-length cape gown, accessorized with a tall top hat), before veering into cobweb-knit dresses in pale pastels and a group of the colorful fairy prints in bias-cut silks. Fringes, caftan cuts and a pair of terrific ruffle-accented tunics and matching trousers were among the details, but Rodarte’s signature silhouette, the silk bias-cut dress, was well represented throughout the collection.

“The core of what we do is a dress, and we have the most fun doing something that starts at the shoulder and can go to your ankle because there are so many opportunities to put something new into it,” Laura added.

Brunson pronounced the collection “playful,” while Ringwald noted that both she and Matilda were wearing dresses by the label and called the show, “gorgeous, so ethereal. [Rodarte] really hits a sweet spot for me: feminine with a little bit of edge. There’s some fantasy to it, but it’s not boring. We’re both wearing Rodarte dresses, and they just feel so good on the body. Their color palette also works for me, and with details like flowers and lace, I just love it.”

On the steps of the show’s location, the Williamsburg Savings Bank, a landmark George B. Post Beaux-Arts building that opened to the public in 1875, Lyonne — accompanied by her stylist, Cristina Ehrlich — likewise offered praise for both the collection’s vibe and its variety. “I was thinking so many things: At first I wanted to be a goth vision; later I changed my mind and said, ‘No, I want to be in a two-piece sequin number,’” she recalled. “Then [the collection] made me feel like a young Liza Minnelli, and later I wanted to be wearing one of those giant capes. And of course, I really only wanted to be eating at that dinner table.”

“This collection really reflects the vernacular of the brand,” Kate said. “When you stay true to that and follow your own instincts, it’s the most interesting place to be creatively, and usually I find people really respond to that.”

A few hours later at another Beaux-Arts landmark, the New York Public Library, Prabal Gurung discussed how a 10-day silent retreat in his native Nepal, experienced over the Christmas holiday, centered him and inspired his latest designs. “I used to go home to Nepal twice a year, but I hadn’t been back since before the pandemic,” he explained to THR before the show. “In these challenging times, the only thing that’s guaranteed is being yourself and feeling true to your heritage, your identity, your roots.”

That inspiration was told in a decidedly modernist fashion, starting with cropped jackets worn over high-waisted trousers adorned with cummerbunds that took their cue from the native dress of Nepalese women. A butterfly print on steroids, meanwhile, was used to great effect on pieces like a flowing high-neck dress with asymmetrical hem and a mesh bodysuit paired with a draped skirt. “I liked the idea of caterpillar to butterfly, and what that means for evolution,” Gurung said. “I hope that people see not only that idea of evolution and reconnection, but also the balance of sensuality and toughness.” The asymmetry seen throughout the collection, he added in his show notes, was about challenging “the idea of harmony and juxtaposes lightness against dark, soft draping against hard angularity.”

Gurung’s healthy list of Hollywood clients recently has included Michelle Yeoh at last May’s Met Gala, Ariana DeBose at September’s Emmy Awards, and Kelsea Ballerini, who wore a flowing yellow silk chiffon gown to Sunday’s Grammy Awards and was on the designer’s front row Friday night. Looks from this latest collection that easily could find their way onto future red carpets include an orange Lurex floral lace slip dress with high-low hemline, worn with detached sleeves that resemble the carpet’s current go-to accessory, opera-length gloves, as well as a beautiful satin tuxedo in sunset pink and featuring a lengthy double-breasted blazer.

“You’ll see a lot of tailoring with draping, which is always my thing,” Gurung said. “I hope through this collection people see both the vulnerability and the courage I had to embrace to really express who I am and to tell my personal stories.”