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As a designer, Mr Rucci has to grow and adapt
with the time. And as is always the case, that means that you work
towards capturing the attention of the younger generation of social
lionesses-in-training. So, rather than scaring off his faithful
clientèle by going too "young" too fast, Mr Rucci
designed pieces in each collection that incorporates aspects of
the old and new, thus giving his customers, old and new, a bridge
or safety net. In the haute couture presentation, this would have
included his flowing silk chiffon caftan with wood embroidery.
For all-out glamour dressing, Mr Rucci gave his
customers a multiple of options. The January show had Erin O’Connor
| The models also carried
clear cylindrical handbags that probably serve no other purpose
than to be a showpiece. The fact that he went there showed us
that his ascent up fashion’s Mt Olympus is a certainty more
than ever |
in his black fluted jersey gown, a totally to-die-for chartreuse
strapless chiffon gown, Alek Wek in a white gazaar infanta gown
with a high feather collar and the serene Diane in a long-sleeve
pearl embroidered blouse paired with a sweeping black gazaar skirt.
This theme of heightened elegance was carried over into the fall
collection with the fluted jersey gown (this time in violet) leading
the charge. Other standout designs include Angela Lindvall in his
vertebrae infanta gown with "skeletal" back detailing,
his combination gown of olive alligator skin top and moiré
silk long skirt, and Alek in a beaded scholar’s stone (high-neck)
chiffon gown accessorized with a thin plastic belt. Above all else,
Mr Rucci has served notice that it is time to take him out of the
"box", that although this was a fantastic fall collection,
there’s a lot more where that came from.
With both these collections, we witnessed his
expert introduction of colours outside his normal range. From ice
pink and Crayola green to celadon, pearl and new shades of white,
he demonstrated a steady hand in incorporating these colours into
his regular palette of black, brown, ivory copper and olive.
His fur designs are also standouts of their own.
Who else could design a barguzin sable full-length coat, various
stoles and jackets and still corporate them so seamlessly into the
rest of the collection? At this rate, he will be showing a separate
fur collection in the coming years during New York’s yearly fur
market week.
Likewise, I was pleasantly surprised by the accessories
he used in both shows. From clear fingerless long plastic gloves,
belts and bracelets to the miniature wooden "pagoda" charm
handbags hanging from wooden belts, he was the master of his design
destiny. The models also carried clear cylindrical handbags that,
well, probably serve no other purpose than to be a showpiece. The
fact that he went there showed us that his ascent up fashion’s Mt
Olympus is a certainty now more than ever.
The shoes (Ralph Rucci by Manolo Blahnik), furs
(Ralph Rucci by Pologeorgis), Leather vessels (Ralph Rucci by Carlos
Falchi) and gloves (by the great man himself) are all worthy of
special mention. Taken all together with the designs, hair and make-up,
each piece of the puzzle came together to complete a perfectly beautiful
picture. Bravo, Ralph! You have outdone yourself once again. •
Phillip D. Johnson is features’ editor of
Lucire.
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