Beautiful People 2010: Autumn de Wilde & Shirley Kurata

Shirley Kurata and Autumn de Wilde are cooler than you. For starters, the pair of stylist-photographer BFFs have a regular horror-movie night with Elijah Wood and Rodarte designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy, who also happen to be their clients. Kurata and de Wilde have been with the Rodarte sisters since the beginning, when de Wilde, who photographed their first collection in 2005, needed some help organizing their second, which happened to be their runway debut at New York Fashion Week. Kurata -- who looks like a rad version of Scooby Doo's Thelma in oversized plastic glasses, a beret, colorblock shift dress and vintage boots -- flew herself out from L.A. to dress models and keep things in check.

The four have worked together ever since, and always share an apartment during New York Fashion Week, with the occasional style superstar stopping by. Vogue heavy-hitter André Leon Talley interrupted taco night this past February. "He's so tall," marvels Kurata.

Kurata attributes her close bond with de Wilde -- they met through Autumn's former boyfriend -- to their shared status of being "late bloomers." Their collective portfolio includes the eclectic likes of Miranda July, Jenny Lewis, Michel Gondry, Beck (who de Wilde has been shooting since 1995), Nancy Sinatra and the memorable Oliver Peoples ad campaign from early 2009, which featured Zooey Deschanel and Matt Costa. The two also occasionally shoot and style for Paper. And unlike other stylist-photog power duos steadily working around town, Kurata and de Wilde, both 39, possess the easy breezy, DIY spirit that, well, makes them so cool. "It was all very collaborative," says Kurata of that glossy, yet grassroots, Oliver Peoples ad, which was de Wilde's concept in the first place. "The person in charge of the brand lent us her shoes."

(L-R) Autumn wears a blazer, shirt and bow-tie by Band of Outsiders. Shirley wears a vintage dress by Geoffrey Beene, glasses by Oliver Peoples and a vintage hat

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