Kate and Laura Mulleavy, as pictured in Vogue

Most months, its Vogue’s innovative and influential fashion spreads that turn heads. In April’s shape issue however, the magazine’s sophisticated body-issue stories carry more weight. (Yes, pun intended. And there’s more.)

Sandwiched between a “You Are Not What You Eat” story and a weight-training trend piece, there’s an unexpected story about the exercising adventures of Laura and Kate Mulleavy, the sisters behind the inimitable Rodarte line. What was surprising about the piece was not the duo’s svelte “after” photo, but the premise that editors had suggested such a pedestrian, personal endeavor to these revered designers. Doing so seemed a bit like telling Lagerfeld he’d be able to read more easily without the dark shades, or asking Cavalli to lay off the cigars…and the vodka…and the 5 A.M. bedtimes: Of course it’s only natural to make some maternal, well-meaning observations but as Emily Post would certainly agree, the majority of those are best surfaced outside the professional arena.

However, it took just two minutes of reading the sisters’ dieting diary to unwrinkle my nose and unfurrow my brow. When viewed through the Mulleavy sisters’ dreamy eyes, even the mundane can be magical: Hoofing it around the block to burn calories is an opportunity to create fairy tales about anonymous houses. Time on the treadmill becomes a quest for music with spirit and kick. A holiday gingerbread bake-off isn’t a test of the dieting wills but a place to flaunt their ceaseless creativity. And that’s not the half of it. So pick up an issue today if you can–to read at the gym or more stylish locales. A rare gem on today’s tarnished newsstand, the story serves as an inspiration not on dieting or how to dress, but on how to live ones life with class and élan.

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