The Belgian designer-making factory has yet another sensation to add to its ever-expanding cast of the cool and the credible. It scarcely seems possible, but it s true. Haider Ackermann s supersonic fairy tale goes like this: At 32, a complete unknown, he materializes on the Paris stage in March with an almost disconcertingly accomplished first collection, all lean-lined, elegant austerity, textured with arresting detail. The minute the show ends, gossip starts about a rare new sensibility, someone with incredible maturity. Buyers crowd in, crying words like sophisticated and beautiful. "I took it as a compliment," says Ackermann, "because I wanted to do something realistic and wearable. So when people said it looks very much grown-up, it was good."
One minute later, shazam! A certain blonde from Milan appears at his side, lifts her magic wand, and says, "Come, Haider. I want to make you the new designer at Ruffo Research!" Or words to that effect. Joy Yaffe, director of Ruffo, the giant Italian luxury-leather group, has a reputation as a godmother of young designers: Catch her eye, and you ll be on the runway in Milan, thrust overnight in- to the spotlight. "When I walked into his showroom, I was immediately captivated," Yaffe says. "Even though Haider had done only one collection, I had a feeling of confidence in him. He s in sync with what today s woman wants—something timeless, simple but sophisticated."
Being selected for Ruffo Research is like an indie band s getting a two-album deal from a major label. Over the past five years a succession of about-to-make-it talent has trooped through Ruffo Research s Tuscan studios. Antonio Berardi, Veronique Branquinho, Raf Simons, A.F. Vandevorst, Sophia Kokosalaki, and Alexandre Matthieu have all been there. For Ruffo, the announce- ment of the next newcomer is a case of the more obscure, the better.
So who is Haider Ackermann? A resident of Antwerp who was born in Colombia, adopted by French parents, and educated all over the world before gravitating to Antwerp s Royal Academy. "My father is from Alsace, which is why my name sounds German," he explains. "He works for Amnesty International, so we traveled around when I was a child. I did my baccalaureate in the Netherlands and then decided I wanted to study fashion."
After he left, interned with Galliano, and did a stint with Wim Neels, it took him a while to pluck up the courage to do his own collection. "I left the academy after the third year for financial reasons. It was hard. I took on three freelance design jobs and worked behind bars, in clubs. I was always thinking of doing it, but I doubted myself."
But here, a typically Belgian twist in the story: Ackermann took his sketches to show a friend, designer Raf Simons, who reacted with typical Antwerpian solidarity. "Raf was like, You have to do it! " remembers Ackermann. "The same day, he called his press agent and his fabric manufacturer—and then everything went very fast. It was scary. It was a big risk." Haider moved into an airy warehouse, which was once used by Victorian seamstresses, and worked at realizing clothes to fit his idea of femininity. “I don t like it when you put something on a woman and it looks like decoration. I don t think that s respectful.”
His own second collection, to be shown in October, will continue with his attenuated line and handmade details. And for Ruffo Research s luxe leather, the sky s the limit. "We re seeing what we can do with smocking, weaving leather with studs in it, destroying leather, perforating it," he says excitedly, promising draped silky-soft suede dresses and armfuls of leather jewelry. Meanwhile, Yaffe, who says she loves Ackermann s idea of casting his show with a mix of models of all ages, looks forward to launching her new protege into the world. "Like all the others, he s getting carte blanche," she says.
