New York Fashion Week: Chado Ralph Rucci’s tools for seduction

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Ralph Rucci moved his runway show from the Bryant Park Tents downtown to his SoHo showroom this season. If he was letting loose a little bit, it showed, first in his eclectic front row -- Whoopi Goldberg and Andre Leon Tally, ‘70s songwriting duo Ashford and Simpson, Fran Leibowitz, Martha Stewart and Deeda Blair -- it doesn’t get much more wild and crazy than that. And then in his opening song, ‘White Rabbit.’ Pass the mink-covered hooka, dude!

In all seriousness, there has been a sexual charge surging through Rucci’s Nipponese-serene style of late, and this superb collection kept it going. Every piece was a potential tool of seduction, from the matte black sequin screen siren gown, to the mink lined rain coat with decorative ‘scarring’ at the hem and cuffs. Rucci played with the idea of transparency on a coat of broadtail fur framed by narrow strips of sheer horsehair that appeared to spiral around the body, a navy silk soutache dress with sheer tulle at the waist and hem, and a cocktail dress with feathers trapped in tulle panels.

There were even a few S&M moments (shoes that laced around the bare leg, a super sexy black leather suit with zippers for seams, and a navy cashmere and silk dress with a bodice that was shredded, ever so artfully).

Rucci’s move downtown was a good one. The more intimate space was all the better to appreciate the fine details. Everything appeared to be weightless, which is something coming from a designer whose work is so heavy.
-- Booth Moore

More photos: Chado Ralph Rucci fall 2010 collection

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