There was a flash of cameras in the front row at Chado. When the scrum parted, it wasn t Leighton Meester or some other Gossip Girl the photographers had been shooting, but Martha Stewart. If Ralph Rucci attracts customers of a certain age, it s partly because the clothes he designs, with their intricate handwork—the sheer paneling, the braided insets—are so very costly. But maybe it s time for the celebrity stylists out there to take another look.
Rucci s program notes said he was inspired by Pina Bausch, the choreographer who died in June. While the silk gazar dresses screen-printed with her likeness seemed a shade much, there was an appealing lightness to many other pieces in the collection. A pale gray chiffon softly A-line dress pintucked into delicate narrow columns would make a fine choice for a starlet hoping to land her first grown-up role. And a tank dress embroidered all over with silk tulle paillettes that shaded from white through gray to black would be a kick to wear on the red carpet.
That s not to say there wasn t plenty to please established clients like Stewart or the socialite Deeda Blair, who sat across the runway. A black braided chiffon skirtsuit lightly embellished with ostrich feathers and worn with a sparkling white shell looked smart. A vanilla double-faced wool crepe dress-and-coat set with geometric tulle insets, meanwhile, had Michelle Obama s name written all over it. That, as every designer knows, would be the ultimate celebrity placement.
