Unlikely Starbucks-Rodarte duo team for holiday

They will be, come Nov. 13.

Starbucks Corp. tapped sisters Laura and Kate Mulleavy as its next design partners for a series of limited-edition products for the holiday season. There'll be Rodarte-designed gift cards, tote bags, cup sleeves and mugs. The signature pattern features a pixelated checkerboard of gray, white and silver set against different shades of green.

It's not specifically "holiday," but that's intentional.

For the design duo, it's a chance to put their name — and their style — out to a new audience. Typically, their fashion designs are edgy, conceptual styles that are not necessarily in line with mass-market taste.

"Our clothing is specialized," Laura Mulleavy said in an interview, "and when we are thinking of Rodarte, we choose things that say who we are as designers, but we're not limited to that. We like the idea of collaborations and putting our thought process somewhere else."