For more than four decades, Ralph Rucci has been assembling an atelier of uniquely talented, creative individuals who share both his aesthetic and his passion for meticulous workmanship.

Since 1981, Rucci’s body of work has been evolving, garment by garment, using the most luxurious fabrics and most renowned specialized collaborators.   Despite a quantum leap in both the quality and magnitude of his designs, Rucci’s evolutionary process moves at its own pace. New silhouettes and technical processes enter his oeuvre as the designer sees fit, not when external pressures dictate.

Nearly all of the artisanal techniques and exquisite, intricate hand-work exhibited in each collection were conceived, developed and realized by Rucci and his team – a studio which has been collectively referred to as one of the finest in the world. Rucci and his team have always been very proud that every garment produced – samples and production – were made in his New York-based workrooms.

Rucci was greatly honored by The Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode in 2001 to be the first American designer in history invited to show a Haute Couture Collection in Paris as part of the official calendar, and continued to show there for five seasons, as he showed his ready-to-wear collections in New York.  After a 12-year hiatus, he was most honored to return to Paris to present his Fall/Winter 2019 Haute Couture Collection at the Hotel Ritz.

In 2016, after leaving the company he built for more than 30 years, he has dedicated himself to perfecting the fine art of Haute Couture in the French tradition and continues to work tirelessly toward that goal.

Rucci believes he was born to create his chosen métier and continually strives to inspire all who seek refinement, beauty and quality workmanship in the world of fashion. He will always cherish experimentation in cut, proportion and construction, and continue to seek ways in which to move his profession forward. Today, Rucci works at his new Couture Salon and Gallery, seeing clients individually and focusing on his art.

Rucci’s work has been featured in numerous museum exhibitions, including three solo shows, and is the subject of two books: “Ralph Rucci: The Art of Weightlessness” by Valerie Steele, Patricia Mears, and Claire Sauro (Yale University Press, 2007) and “Autobiography of a Fashion Designer: Ralph Rucci” with photographs by Baldomero Fernandez and text by Matthew Egan (Bauer and Dean Publishers, 2011). Rucci has also been the subject of a  David Boatman documentary film, “Ralph Rucci:  A Designer and His House,” which premiered in 2008 on The Sundance Channel.

Rucci also received many industry awards including The Artistry of Fashion Award from The Museum at FIT’s Couture Council in  2006; a Fashion Walk of Fame plaque on Seventh Avenue in  2011; the André Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2012; the Fashion Group International’s Lifetime Living Legend Award in 2019, and an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Fashion Institute of Technology in 2022.