Features — Page 59

The Genius in Perfection: A Quiet American: Ralph Rucci & Paris

New York City Ballet founder and choreographer George Balanchine once told a journalist, “I don’t create; only God creates. I just assemble very well.” In the documentary A Quiet American: Ralph Rucci & Paris C. S. Leigh examines the skill and acumen of one of the greatest American couturiers of all times, Ralph Rucci; and Rucci’s genius for pulling from different sources, and combining couture techniques into great modern works of beauty.

As the only American couturier approved by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture to show in Paris in several decades, Ralph Rucci has made his mark on global fashion. A Quiet American: Ralph Rucci & Paris gives a telescoped purview into Rucci’s career post his 2002 Paris debut.

From interviews—starting in 2007 and culminating in 2011—with Rucci’s celebrated clients to artisans who work on his collections, to up-close-and personal interviews with Rucci, director C. S. Leigh has crafted a cerebral and detailed look into not only Rucci, but the evolving art of haute couture. “Ralph is marvelous as a person, a friend, and a couturier … everything worn is very comfortable, no frills … he bridges the gap between classic and modern,” contends Princess Lee Radziwill.

Interviews aside, C.S. Leigh meticulously details Rucci’s unbridled passion and reverential obsession for the art of haute couture. “I am making a financial investment in supporting the métier of couture,” admits Rucci. With no big financial machine behind him, Rucci has almost singlehandedly forged a unique American presence in the world of haute couture. A presence that Rucci always believed was dutifully his. “… Paris has always been the focus of my career, I [had to] test myself … I make clothes in New York which I call couture, but I had to prove myself in Paris,” explains Rucci.

The attention to detail and Rucci’s almost priest-like, obsessive dedication to the art of haute couture is evidenced in his measured approach. Even his luxury brand’s name, Chado Ralph Rucci, named after the intricate Japanese tea ceremony, portends the craft and focus necessary to create couture works of art. Though Rucci is obsessive about the perfection needed to create the penultimate black dress or any of his garments, true perfection for Rucci is in the distillation of his ideas, and the arduous tasks of manifesting those ideas.

Images courtesy of C.S. Leigh

C.S. Leigh also expertly weaves beautiful footage from Rucci’s Paris couture shows from 2007 and 2008 around interviews with Hamish Bowles, Andre Leon Talley, New York Times critic Cathy Horyn, Rosina Rucci, Princess Less Radziwill, Deeda Blair, Francisco Costa, Tatiana Sorokko, and Parisian couture artisan Francois Lesage. And though A Quiet American: Ralph Rucci & Paris is still a rough cut and in unedited form, C.S. Leigh in this documentary confirms what is well known in the fashion community, that Ralph Rucci’s work extends beyond trends, and that he is the quintessential American couturier. “Fashion, though fleeting, is a memory you create … yet, Ralph creates garments that are timeless,” says Tatiana Sorokko.

Aptly put!!

—William Gooch

The House of Lacroix’s Fresh, New Approach to Menswear

What happens to an iconic fashion brand when the creative mind behind that brand dies or is pushed aside for a fresher, more relevant point of view? The fashion community was rocked last year by the death of Alexander McQueen and the expulsion of John Galliano from the revered House of Dior. But those are not the only shake-ups the fashion world has had to endure. Some years back Thierry Mugler left his signature brand for other creative endeavors, and a year after Gianfranco Ferré’s death Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi were brought in to direct the well-known fashion house. (After only a few seasons Aquilano and Rimondi were replaced.)

The House of Christian Lacroix has also recently experienced some reshuffling. For several decades, Christian Lacroix’s couture and women’s ready-to-wear collections were known for frothy, fantasy creations infused with cultural referencing. However, the media has often failed to acknowledge Lacroix’s menswear aesthetic. “Our male demographic is quite broad. What we did on the women’s side was very theatrical and avant-garde, and when we decided to launch the men’s collection we wanted to be very classic, but current, with some of the expected Lacroix panache. We are a fashion company, so it is necessary that the brand maintains a youthful edge,” explains Nicholas Topiol, chief executive officer of Christian Lacroix.

Sascha Walckhoff

With Christian Lacroix no longer at the helm, it is up to new creative director Sacha Walckhoff to breathe new life into the iconic brand that until recently was stuck in a financial and creative quagmire. Lacroix’s assistant for over 17 years, Walckhoff is well familiar with the Lacroix aesthetic. But, with the couture and women’s ready-to-wear lines dormant, the House of Lacroix, under Walckhoff’s aegis, is making a comeback through its menswear collection. “Sacha is the brain behind this men’s collection, and he has been growing it and evolving it in a more youthful and accessible way,” affirms Topiol. “The DNA of Lacroix is about the mix and match, and the influences that existed before the company was started and what is going on in menswear now.”

In July, Christian Lacroix’s men’s collection was singularly presented for the first time on the runway. Though most of the classic silhouettes in this collection have been seen before; most critics agree that the spring/summer 2012 collection was a youthful, elegant combination of functional suits, separates, and for that extra wow factor, denim jackets and cutoff jeans encrusted with Swarovski crystals. “This collection is a mix of Savile Row, British prep, London in the 60s, and the South of France; a combination of the baroque, minimalist influences, and a reflection of how contemporary men want to dress,” details Topiol. “Christian Lacroix is a couture house, so we felt that even in the men’s collection there must be a link to the couture, which you will evidenced in our denim jackets embellished with Swarovski crystals.”

Christian Lacroix spring/summer 2012 images courtesy of style.com

Though this collection strongly expresses Walckhoff’s point of view, influences from Christian Lacroix are evident throughout the collection. “The pattern on the jackets comes from the bullfighting cape. The pattern was offered to Christian Lacroix and he gave it to the company to make a red haute couture wedding dress in 2002, which was later worn by Madonna. We use that pattern across different Lacroix products, and you can see it applied to our pants, jeans and jackets,” explains de la Bourdonnaye.

With a new creative director at the helm and a new showroom in New York City, a revamped Christian Lacroix is focused on a wider global appeal while continuing to conjure up images of fashion as wearable art.

Christian Lacroix spring/summer 2012 menswear line will be in major stores and retailers in February and March 2012.

—William S. Gooch