Chado Ralph Rucci – Fiercely Innovative Yet Somehow Genteel

It doesn’t happen very often, but occasionally someone in Ralph Rucci’s atelier will forget and hang too many Chado garments on one rack, thus prompting the designer to declare, “No no no. You can’t crowd the girls like this. They can’t breathe.” Never crowd the girls. This avowal might seem charmingly anecdotal, but if you know Rucci, you know he means it quite seriously. Each dress, skirt, gown, coat, or blouse isn’t just alive for him. Every one is adored as a dear friend or even a child, born more than made by not a team but a family. So please. Never crowd the girls.

story by Lisa Radano
photos by udor

It doesn’t happen very often, but occasionally someone in Ralph Rucci’s atelier will forget and hang too many Chado garments on one rack, thus prompting the designer to declare, “No no no. You can’t crowd the girls like this. They can’t breathe.” Never crowd the girls. This avowal might seem charmingly anecdotal, but if you know Rucci, you know he means it quite seriously. Each dress, skirt, gown, coat, or blouse isn’t just alive for him. Every one is adored as a dear friend or even a child, born more than made by not a team but a family. So please. Never crowd the girls.
Continue reading “Chado Ralph Rucci – Fiercely Innovative Yet Somehow Genteel”

Chado Ralph Rucci Up Close In Imperial Colors

Our review of the Fall 2013 Chado Ralph Rucci collection will be published soon, but we had two photographers in very different positions at this show, and so many great pictures of such a long show, it seems odd to edit them down for one article, so here is a special feature that brings you specifically my view from the front row. There are three shows I try to never miss during New York Fashion Week, and I think you’ll see why Mr. Rucci’s remains number one.

text and photos by Charles Beckwith

Our review of the Fall 2013 Chado Ralph Rucci collection will be published soon, but we had two photographers in very different positions at this show, and so many great pictures of such a long show, it seems odd to edit them down for one article, so here is a special feature that brings you specifically my view from the front row. There are three shows I try to never miss during New York Fashion Week, and I think you’ll see why Mr. Rucci’s remains number one. Continue reading “Chado Ralph Rucci Up Close In Imperial Colors”

Chado Ralph Rucci… Supernova

Seth Friedermann and I walked in backstage at the Chado Ralph Rucci Spring 2013 show and were immediately surrounded by color and wonder. Ushered up to the designer, where he was standing, smiling broadly and looking physically renewed, in the middle of his collection on dozens of huge garment racks, ready to go onto his fleet of statuesque models a few minutes later, it was like being pushed out of Kansas into Oz. I started with the most simple and complex question you can ask a designer, “what is new? What has changed from your last collection?” Mr. Rucci paused for a moment and then started to unfold the story of this new world of color he was about to unveil in the largest tent at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. . .

story by Charles Beckwith
photos by udor and Charles Beckwith

Seth Friedermann and I walked in backstage at the Chado Ralph Rucci Spring 2013 show and were immediately surrounded by color and wonder. Ushered up to the designer, where he was standing, smiling broadly and looking physically renewed, in the middle of his collection on dozens of huge garment racks, ready to go onto his fleet of statuesque models a few minutes later, it was like being pushed out of Kansas into Oz. I started with the most simple and complex question you can ask a designer, “what is new? What has changed from your last collection?” Mr. Rucci paused for a moment and then started to unfold the story of this new world of color he was about to unveil in the largest tent at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. . . Continue reading “Chado Ralph Rucci… Supernova”

Downtown, Night – A Photo Editorial

It’s easy to get lost in the cold canyons of deep downtown New York. At night it can be an eerie place, dark and claustrophobic. Yet even then there are places of light and moments of beauty.

photos by Aeric Meredith-Goujon
art direction and styling by Seth Friedermann
makeup by Becca Bouchard
hair by Sonia Castleberry
model is Harrington from Fenton Moon
photo assistant Emmanuel Fleurinord
styling assistants Ashley Roberts and Zimir Hernandez

It’s easy to get lost in the cold canyons of deep downtown New York. At night it can be an eerie place, dark and claustrophobic. Yet even then there are places of light and moments of beauty. Continue reading “Downtown, Night – A Photo Editorial”

Chado Ralph Rucci – Spring 2012 Review – Experimental Elegance

“When I’m asked about the clothes, I…I don’t know. I pick up from where I left off, and then I get feelings, and then it comes from here.” When Ralph Rucci said that to me, he pointed to his solar plexus, the center of his torso. He does not create from his head, he does not create from his heart, he really doesn’t even create from his soul. His body of work has expresses itself through him. Mr. Rucci has repeatedly stated that he feels no sense of ownership or possession over the unique and moving works that populate his collections.

View the full collection in our Photo Gallery.

story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Charles Beckwith

“When I’m asked about the clothes, I…I don’t know. I pick up from where I left off, and then I get feelings, and then it comes from here.” When Ralph Rucci said that to me, he pointed to his solar plexus, the center of his torso. He does not create from his head, he does not create from his heart, he really doesn’t even create from his soul. His body of work has expresses itself through him. Mr. Rucci has repeatedly stated that he feels no sense of ownership or possession over the unique and moving works that populate his collections. He constantly refers to his team and uses “we,” and this is done not out of modesty but for accuracy. Mr. Rucci tries always to be accurate about what he has done, how he did it, and how he feels about it. Continue reading “Chado Ralph Rucci – Spring 2012 Review – Experimental Elegance”

Chado Ralph Rucci – Fall 2011

Ralph Rucci’s Fall 2011 collection contained many, many pieces which structurally verged on the impossible. His talent at creating lightness and gravity-defying shoulders and sleeves is unmatched. It is not the technical underpinnings, however, that move those that view his designs, but the art of the designs themselves.

story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Charles Beckwith and Stephen F. Bodi
photo editing by Aya Rosen

Ralph Rucci’s Fall 2011 collection contained many, many pieces which structurally verged on the impossible. His talent at creating lightness and gravity-defying shoulders and sleeves is unmatched. It is not the technical underpinnings, however, that move those that view his designs, but the art of the designs themselves. To be moved and astonished by design is an exhilarating feeling. If you have ever found yourself staring transfixed at a sculpture or a skyscraper, then you know how engrossing it can become. This happened immediately as the first looks began their laps around the packed Chado showroom. Continue reading “Chado Ralph Rucci – Fall 2011”

Dream To Seam – The Ralph Rucci Interview

There are often glimpses of innovation or the potential for greatness in any collection, but rarely do we see one come down the runway that is replete with magnificence. And yet, every time we see this man’s work we are in complete awe.

hosted by Seth Friedermann
videography by Stephen Bodi and Daphnee Fortunate
produced by Charles Beckwith and Adrianna Favero
edited by Charles Beckwith

modaCYCLE has been dedicated to a search for exceptional design since it was started in 2008. There are often glimpses of innovation or the potential for greatness in any collection, but rarely do we see one come down the runway that is replete with magnificence. And yet, every time we see this man’s work we are in complete awe. Continue reading “Dream To Seam – The Ralph Rucci Interview”

Chado Ralph Rucci – Spring 2011 – New York

Consummate, this single word describes both Ralph Rucci and his art. Ralph Rucci’s designs possess a refined and serene feel to them. They are perfectly balanced, not solely aesthetically but in spirit as well. Viewing the Spring 2011 collection from Chado I felt as if I was reading almost as much as seeing.

story by Seth Friedermann
photos provided by the designer

Consummate, this single word describes both Ralph Rucci and his art. Ralph Rucci’s designs possess a refined and serene feel to them. They are perfectly balanced, not solely aesthetically but in spirit as well. Viewing the Spring 2011 collection from Chado I felt as if I was reading almost as much as seeing. There was communication occurring, each dress, each jacket, each blouse was imparting a  specific message. Fundamental sections such as panels and sleeves carried the same strength as the detailing, creating a sense of wholeness you rarely encounter in fashion. Mr. Rucci creates garments much like a master calligrapher who understands that the form of the symbol communicates as much as the symbol itself. Continue reading “Chado Ralph Rucci – Spring 2011 – New York”

Chado Ralph Rucci – Fall 2010 Collection – New York

So many designers try to merge tradition and modernity in their work, and so often they end up looking odd and out of context. Not Ralph Rucci’s creations. He blends what was with what can be, and you can only know it as beautiful.

story by Charles Beckwith
photos by Tal Shpantzer
video by Stephen Dirkes

There were 68 looks in the Chado Ralph Rucci Fall 2010 collection, all of them their own work of art. The detail up close, particularly for ready to wear garments, is astonishing.

Continue reading “Chado Ralph Rucci – Fall 2010 Collection – New York”

Chado Ralph Rucci Spring-Summer 2010 Collection

You know how in Spiderman the ordinary kid gets bitten by a radioactive spider and gets super powers? When I look at Chado Ralph Rucci’s pieces on the runway, I think maybe this was an ordinary clothing designer who got bitten by a radioactive modernist sculptor.

story by Charles Beckwith
photos by Sandy Ramirez

You know how in Spiderman the ordinary kid gets bitten by a radioactive spider and gets super powers? When I look at Chado Ralph Rucci’s pieces on the runway, I think maybe this was an ordinary clothing designer who got bitten by a radioactive modernist sculptor. There is no point in his shows where one is not thinking a superior artist has been at work. Continue reading “Chado Ralph Rucci Spring-Summer 2010 Collection”