There has been a lot of emphasis on craft this season, and so Ralph Rucci was entirely in his element at his first-ever ready-to-wear presentation in Paris. Jaws dropped at a braided leather jacket worn with hammered-satin pajama pants, a taffeta dress with a fitted bodice nipped and tucked from butter-soft alligator, and a gown covered in silver tinsel that swished like air rustling through trees as the model made her circuit of the Palais de Tokyo.
Sometimes, though, you can t help wishing Rucci would let his ideas fly, rather than hitching every one of them, however jaw-droppingly, to a demonstration of technique. While his fans among the ladies who lunch are legion, he hasn t yet quite managed to win over a broader audience, and it might help if he could loosen up just a little bit. A groovy young chick could certainly connect with a blue-black taffeta dress with a big bow at the waist or a chocolate feather-and-lace cocktail number from the second half of his show (made up of his couture pieces). It would be interesting to see Rucci extend his talents further in this direction.
