Chado Ralph Rucci F/W 07.08 NYC

[CelebrityMitch]

no.. i don't like this colletction and the shoes are horrible!

 

[stilettogirl84]

I adore the shoes but the clothes are awful

 

[UneVieEnOr]

He always does the same thing...Does he get bored? Anyway you can tell the fabrics used are the best that there is. You can just see the luxuriousness(sp?)

 

[Trista]

I think that it's not the prettiest but the detail shots make me appreciate it more.

 

[DuTTyRoCK112]

hmm i rather like this. its very mature but its for a certain client, and for that client i think this is beautiful, smart, interesting and very luxurious.

 

[Idoru]

The typical Rucci client is dignified, gracious, and a lady. His clothes are definitely for a woman of means, who actually pays for her clothes - these women are not dressed by publicists or stylists. I've had the pleasure to meet him and see him at work in his atelier, and he is most definitely an artist to the purest definition. I've also had the opportunity to mount his gowns on mannequins for a museum exhibition, and let me tell you, his fabrics are the most luxurious out there (roadkill indeed). Much like Balenciaga's manipulation of gazaar and other fabrics in the late 1940s-60s, Rucci too lets the fabrics "speak" to him in dictating the structure of his garments. His construction techniques are highly precise - my favorite is his suspension technique which is a type of suture stitch that is both aesthetic and structural. I'm not saying that I would actually wear his clothes- they are too lux and demand a seriousness I don't want in my style. But I definitely appreciate his genius and creativity.

 

[Deleted member 7575]

I agree with Idoru, his garments are masterpieces. The details and handwork rivals that of the parisian couture. His motto is "god is in the details" and it shows.

His clients are women who aren't generally concerned with trends or fashion for that matter, just exquisite clothes. While I personally feel he could freshen up his look a little more, you realize that his clothes aren't exactly about that.

 

[bedtimestorynyc]

this is what i call a good evening dress collection!!!!

 

[iyemstoopid]

his construction techniques are amazing... but the asian prints/ faces i feel are sooo tacky and done

 

[Idoru]

but the asian prints/ faces i feel are sooo tacky and done

I know what you mean - I remember those prints from the early 90s, but having done research on this guy it appears that they are expressions of his interest in Buddhism. Each of the faces on his silkscreens comes from a meditative source. He also collects Buddhist statuary.

One thing that I just realized is that he is quite literal in referencing his inspirations:
-his suite of Cy Twombly dresses matches his personal Twombly collection
-those printed faces
-his Francis Bacon paintings are also evident in some of his work
-and his Infanta series pay homage to both Balenciaga's Infanta and the real Infantas of hundreds of years ago in Spain.

 

[xmodel citizen]

I'm sorry, but I just don't see the appeal, amazing craftmanship or not, it's still unattractive. And those coats are seriously hideous. The use of fur is excessive, unappealing, and tacky.

 

[Tinuviel]

bleurghh. you couldn't pay me to wear any of this.

 

[LaurieAnn]

I have really liked some of his collections in the past, however this one has a heavy look to me as if there's just a ton of fabric in each item. Yes his collections are for a very specific clientel but I still want to see a bit more lightness and ease to the garments.

 

[Nader]

not my thing, but theres a large market for this so i know it'll do well

 

[Deleted member 1957]

its an elegant collection though the makeup and hair makes some of the models look masculine

 

[fashionista-ta]

You know, I love fur, but this was just excessive. It looks like he took giant pieces of roadkill and pasted them unto a coat. A few dresses are cute, but overall, this is pretty hideous. Some of the looks made me cringe.

I noticed one of the models appears to be carrying a dead animal ... God knows what it is

 

[softgrey]

The typical Rucci client is dignified, gracious, and a lady. His clothes are definitely for a woman of means, who actually pays for her clothes - these women are not dressed by publicists or stylists. I've had the pleasure to meet him and see him at work in his atelier, and he is most definitely an artist to the purest definition. I've also had the opportunity to mount his gowns on mannequins for a museum exhibition, and let me tell you, his fabrics are the most luxurious out there (roadkill indeed). Much like Balenciaga's manipulation of gazaar and other fabrics in the late 1940s-60s, Rucci too lets the fabrics "speak" to him in dictating the structure of his garments. His construction techniques are highly precise - my favorite is his suspension technique which is a type of suture stitch that is both aesthetic and structural. I'm not saying that I would actually wear his clothes- they are too lux and demand a seriousness I don't want in my style. But I definitely appreciate his genius and creativity.

great post- thanks for the insight and welcome to tFS...
hope to see more of your posts...

 

[classic1908]

Rucci news

A story in the Palm Beach Daily News on Rucci:

http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/fash/content/fashion/RalphRucci0328.html

'How I got into trouble'
Rucci decries emphasis on youth, 'political' power structure of fashion world

By ROBERT JANJIGIAN
Daily News Fashion Editor

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Daily News Photo by Ruth Cincotta (enlarge photo)Ralph Rucci, with samples from his fall Chado collection, discussed the inspirations behind his work at a Historical Society benefit lunch Monday at Neiman Marcus.

He's a refined rebel.
On Monday, New York designer Ralph Rucci spoke about his career and inspirations with Pamela Fiori, editor of Town & Country, as part of The Historical Society of Palm Beach County's benefit luncheon lecture at Neiman Marcus' Worth Avenue store.
"I never sought permission to be a designer," said the Philadelphia-born, Fashion Institute of Technology-trained Rucci, whose Chado ready-to-wear collection has been available for 25 years and is noted for its precise detailing, luxuriousness and timeless style.
"This is how I got into trouble."
Rucci, the first American designer since Mainbocher in the 1930s to be invited by the French fashion authorities to show a haute couture collection in Paris, told the audience that he's fought against the "political" structure of fashion for many years, specifically in terms of how "certain" publications put the emphasis on promoting "inane children in borrowed clothes and borrowed jewelry."
"It saddens me," he said. "Why are we looking at them?"
Style, according to Rucci, has nothing to do with youth.
"Style comes with age. It's terribly vulgar to say 'a woman of a certain age,' " he said, noting that he dresses women in their 20s and into their 90s. "That's a negative in the fashion press."
Rucci added that "women of a certain age" are the buying public and should not be pushed aside.
His fall collection runway show referenced the look of the late sculptor Louise Nevelson, whom Rucci pointed to as possessing notable style even in her later years.
"We wrapped the models' heads in Saran Wrap" for the show in homage to Nevelson, Rucci said.
Many reviewers missed his point and criticized the plastic-wrapped hair instead of looking at the clothes, he said.
"Take a pill," the designer advised detractors of his stylized hair treatment.
Rucci, who said he never stops working, finds inspiration in works of art, literature, "everywhere," while creating "clothes that are not about fashion."
"They have to have longevity," he said.
To achieve this, Rucci uses only natural fabrics, such as cashmere, silk-linen gazar and silk jersey.
"They have an integral integrity," he said. "There's no longevity to synthetics."
Rucci cited the rigor and passion of Cristobal Balenciaga, the style of soft dressing invented by Madame Grés, Coco Chanel's idea of creating uniforms, the technical prowess of Charles James and the "genius" of Halston as informing his work. James Galanos taught him to be humble and to look at things with humor.
His admiration for the individual and elegant dressing styles of women such as Diana Vreeland, Pauline de Rothschild, Tina Chow and Gloria Guinness are always on his mind, Rucci said, although, "it's little clips in women that inspire me."
The designer stays away from advising women, even his clients, what to wear.
"Too many men tell women what to wear," he said. "If I were a psychiatrist, I'd see you individually, but I won't take that on."