Ralph Rucci: Autobiography of a Fashion Designer
Photographs by Baldomero Fernandez
Contributions by Ralph Rucci
LIMITED AVAILABILITY
A visually sumptuous feast revealing the inspirations behind the creative genius of fashion designer Ralph Rucci.
This beautiful photography book grants the reader unprecedented access to the private and professional worlds of Ralph Rucci during the spring and fall of 2011. Page after page of more than one thousand photographs of his home and studio uncover the man behind a lifetime of extraordinary creations. David Patrick Columbia of the New York Social Diary called the publication “a treasure” and a “collector’s item,” giving it high praise “because of the brilliance of the content [and] the quality.”
December 2011
Hardcover, cloth, in slipcase
256 pages
1,000 color photographs
11.25 x 11.25 inches
ISBN: 978-0983863298
$125.00
Description
Inspired by artist Sol LeWitt’s photography book Autobiography, this unconventional volume offers an intimate tour of the behind-the-scenes inspirations and processes of the American couturier Ralph Rucci. Expanding the notion of home as autobiography, photographer Baldomero Fernandez documented every aspect of the famed fashion designer’s apartment. Fernandez also spent one year at the Chado: Ralph Rucci workroom on lower Broadway photographing Rucci and his team as they created the exquisite garments for the spring and fall collections of 2011.
Autobiography of a Fashion Designer opens with images of Rucci’s apartment, which show the accumulation of objects collected over a lifetime—mementos of his travels and passions. It is not just the objets d’art, furniture, unique household items, books, and photographs themselves but how they are arranged that provide a glimpse into Rucci’s personality and life, revealing his taste, his muses, and his quirks. The second half of the book documents Rucci’s office and workroom and the techniques that distinguish him as a designer who continues to represent the highest quality of handcraftsmanship. Among the many visionaries represented who have inspired him are Elsa Peretti, Balenciaga, and Pauline de Rothschild. Together, this collection of photographs elucidates what makes Ralph Rucci a true American original.
Interspersed among the hundreds of photographs are a select few quotes and stories from Rucci himself that give insight into his philosophies and beliefs. We discover what is important to the man, personally and creatively.
About the Photographer
Baldomero Fernandez (b.1973), who grew up in Miami, Florida, first began taking photographs at age fourteen. He graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology and moved to New York City to start a career in photography. Fernandez has directed video and multimedia shorts for CR Fashion Book, The Aesthete and several high-profile fashion brands and artists. His photographs have appeared in publications such as Life, The New Yorker, the New York Times, Vanity Fair, and W Magazine. He was honored by MTV for a video PSA encouraging voter participation. Fernandez was also awarded The Communication Arts Magazine Editorial Award of Excellence for his work done in Cuba and The Workshops Golden Light Award. His documentary work has received accolades from the Center Awards in Santa Fe and The Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University (for his project Middletown). His work has consistently appeared in the American Photography Annual since 1999 and is included in the Martin Margulies Permanent Collection. Among the things that excite Fernandez the most in life are toeing the line at a marathon or triathlon race and being up in the country with a flashlight in hand looking for frogs and snails at night with his then 5-year-old son.
About the Subject
Fashion designer Ralph Rucci was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and earned a degree in Philosophy at Temple University. He trained under Halston and a Balenciaga patternmaker and held his first formal show in 1981. He launched his house, Chado: Ralph Rucci, in 1996, and in 2002, Rucci was invited to show in Paris—the first American-based designer ever to receive the honor. Rucci’s clothing designs have appeared in a number of major exhibitions, and he has won significant fashion-industry awards during his career.
