Ralph Rucci

Designer of the week is Ralph Rucci. This designer was born and raised in Philadelphia. At the age of 21, he moved to New York to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology. To gain experience, he trained under Halston and a Balenciaga patternmaker. First show was featured at New York's Westbury Hotel but launched Chado Ralph Rucci over a decade later. His first New York Fashion Week show was in 1999. This actually got the Fashion world buzzing about Rucci. By 2002, Rucci became the first American designer in more than 60 years to be invited to show in Paris by French Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture.

For the next five seasons, his haute couture collections were shown in Paris. On top of being a designer, Rucci would paint. Most of his paintings were put into art galleries throughout the U.S for many to see. Being inspired by many, Rucci himself became the one that inspired others. His collections will have you captivated. Rucci's devotion to elegance just oozes luxury but not ostentatious. With how perfectly made each garment is, the attention to detail was always the talked about between many. There is also a documentary called Ralph Rucci: A Designer and His House. This documentary is worth seeing when you get the chance. Learning about the designer and how they got to where they are today is always an amazing story. Reading about it doesn't do it justice like hearing from the designers mouth.

You get a different feel of what they struggled on, what they are passionate about and the joy of showing off their pieces. The sad part was when Rucci left his label in 2014. There was no intent to return to fashion but because people were begging him to come back, he decided to do a complete 380 on what he normally creates. The reason to why Rucci left are still unknown but anytime someone has to leave their own brand, it makes you wonder if the team that joined are the reason behind it. Happy to see Rucci back and his work has really set the bar high for anyone in the fashion industry.

Rights go to:

www.elle.com/chado-ralph-rucci-runway