Originally from Vienna, Austria, Sonja Rubin has been involved in the fashion world since the age of 16, studying in Milan, London, and New York. She co-founded RUBIN & CHAPELLE in 1997 where the line quickly became a sought-after brand with numerous celebrity clients and international retail clients including Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Joyce Hong Kong. She has worked for designers and retailers including Vivienne Westwood, Marc Jacobs, Sean John, Barneys New York, and Saks Fifth Avenue.

RUBIN & CHAPELLE is among the first brands to establish retail presence in New York’s Meatpacking District. The partners opened their second retail store in Malibu, California, in 2011.

Rubin has received a number of awards and nominations from institutions including Fashion Group International, the Smithsonian, and the City of Vienna, Austria. She is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology.

The designer has participated as a critic for graduating fashion design students at Parsons School of Design, F.I.T., Chicago Art Institute, and Berlin University of Applied Art. Selections from her designs are in the museum collections of School of the Art Institute of Chicago and F.I.T.

Her designs have appeared in publications including Vogue, In-Style, Harper’s Bazaar, New York Times, WWD, Elle, The Face, Interior Design, Essence, The New Yorker, L’Officiel, Wallpaper, and People.

Celebrity clients include Scarlett Johansson, Jude Law, Jennifer Lawrence, Cindy Sherman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Berry, Chelsea Clinton, Isabelle Huppert, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce, Oprah Winfrey, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Bjork.

The collection has been shown internationally in the U.S., France, Italy, Austria, and Japan.

Sonja Rubin has been a CFDA Member since 2011.