Sleepwalkers aren’t normally seen as sources of fashion inspiration. However, for Kate and Laura Mulleavy of the fashion brand Rodarte, subjects such as sleepwalkers, film and hippie-punk culture are the influences that fuel their creativity.

The Mulleavys are revealing their sources of inspiration, which range from the aforementioned subjects to the scenic beauty of California, in a new book, “Rodarte, Catherine Opie, Alec Soth.” Because of their intricate and artistic fashion designs, the designers of Rodarte have gained industry and mass acclaim for their clothing and design process.

In an exploration of their work, the Mulleavys will participate in a lecture at the Hammer Museum with photographer Alec Soth and UCLA photography Professor Catherine Opie, both of whom they commissioned to photograph the book. According to Kate Mulleavy, this book became a narrative on their lives growing up in California.

“Our work is very personal. … We grew up by the beach near Santa Cruz amongst tide pools, the Pacific Ocean, redwood forests, mustard fields, California poppies and apple orchards,” Kate Mulleavy said. “All of these memories shaped the way we think creatively.”

According to Laura Mulleavy, the book features intimate portraits of models and friends of the Mulleavys wearing Rodarte dresses and scenes of California landscape and culture, photographed by Catherine Opie and Alec Soth, respectively.

“(Opie) shot each subject against a backdrop of a specific color, and we worked to pick pieces from our collections that would interact with the colors being chosen. Each portrait conveys an intense sense of intimacy with the subject which only a Cathy Opie picture can do,” Laura Mulleavy said.

For the photographs of California, Soth went on a two-week road trip through California, searching for the items on a list of inspirations that the Mulleavys sent, such as California condors, sleepwalkers and horror films. He said he called the project, “The California Sleepwalker’s Treasure Hunt.”

“We felt that the landscape of California was pivotal in telling the story of our clothes. It was interesting, because (Soth) was asked to document things that interested us and have influenced our creative process and aesthetic, and in this manner, that is how we got to know one another. It was as if we were pen pals,” Laura Mulleavy said.

Soth said that traveling and photographing various aspects of the West Coast, from the Bay Area to Tijuana, became a personal art project for him. Despite working with them on this project, Soth has never met the sisters in person, but communicated with them through email and ornate packages of handwritten notes and photos.

“Not meeting was intentional on my part. I wanted to probe their creative influences and for them to exist in my imagination and not in my reality,” Soth said. “I have this real connection to them. The way their brains function, I feel like they picked me ‘cause there was this connection to my creative daydreaming.”

Soth said that while he is nervous to meet the Mulleavys in person for the first time at the lecture, he looks forward to a free-form discussion at the Hammer on their creative pursuits.

“For me, what this book is about is living a creative life,” Soth said. “I think Catherine Opie and the Rodarte sisters and myself are very distinct people who are all involved in a creative life in different ways. You can call it fashion, you can call it art, commercial photography, whatever you want, but I think there’s a vibrancy to living a creative life that comes through in this work.”