Last night I attended the opening of FIT’s exhibition Ralph Rucci: The Art of Weightlessness, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Ralph Rucci’s designs. I met Ralph several years at a conference here in New York. He was a guest speaker – gave a talk, showed some slides … I really didn’t know much about him. He told me he was showing at the Haute Couture in Paris. Since I was on my way to Paris, I went to Ralph’s show at the Ritz Hotel.
I was truly transported then as I was last night at FIT curator Valerie Steele’s show. It was a magical feast for the eyes, Ralph is more than a designer, he is an artist of fabric and form. I couldn’t absorb it all. First of all there were so many elegant women dressed in Ralph’s entrance-making, breath-taking clothes, I didn’t know where to look first. Two stand-outs were Valerie Steele herself, resplendent in bright green with watercolor detailing and Amy Fine Collins in a black crocodile bodice with a shimmering skirt of black paillettes.
Then, this is a designer who follows cultural trends but with that he has a clarity in his mind about his work founded in his approach to his craft as an artist not just a designer. Ralph raises the standard of excellence in his field without being manipulated by what is depicted in advertisements and popular conceptions of beauty. He is a leader and not a follower who has stuck to his basic themes over the years using only the best fabrics. His inspiration grows, his art sets him apart from the rest. Finally now, after 25 years Ralph is getting the attention he deserves. For the modern elegant woman – he is it!!!
I spoke with so many of the style world’s most iconic fans of Ralph who were in attendance, from the beaming and happy Martha Stewart to Ike Ude, the publisher of aRUDE magazine who is collaborating on a book with Ralph.
Some of the other glamorous women who attended, many bedecked and bejeweled in Ralph’s creations, included Tatiania Sorokko, Denise Hale, Amy Fine Collins, Marjorie Fisher, and Georgette Mossbacher, Charlotte Moss, Casey Ribicoff, Deeda Blair, Iris Apfel and so many others.
Don’t miss this stellar exhibit of an American Master of Couture.
Ralph Rucci: The Art of Weightlessness
January 12 – April 14, 2007
