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Rucci to the Rescue
Written by Timothy Hagy, Photography by Alain Rousseau
PARIS, July 5 -The Paris couture season opened on Monday night amid numerous cancellations, among them the House of Versace. Ralph Rucci picked up the slack by staging his show in the poolroom of the Ritz, the spot recently vacated by Donatella.
By the time the last model retreated, Lee Radziwell practically leaped across the runway to embrace none other than Oprah Winfrey. This was America's night in Paris, and those two icons of style more than made up for the noticeable lack of American Vogue, which had been present en masse several hours earlier at the Dior Homme show.
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Well dressed American women are known the world over for their crispness--a clean, fresh and immaculate form of grooming and adornment. The best dressed American women will often eschew embellishment if they deem the embellishment to take away from the crisp look they so favor. Although Mr. Rucci is gently exploring the world of European embellishment in his brilliant Autumn 2004 Haute Couture collection, it is his clean, spare architectural cut that his demanding, high profile American fans adore. When we think of the best dressed American women--Lee Radziwell, Deeda Blair, Denise Hale, and Nan Kempner, as well as the late Babe Paley and Jackie Onassis, we think of an almost austere style, in which the lady carried the garment, not the reverse. Oprah Winfrey has now joined this legendary rank of American fashionistas, preferring Mr. Rucci's elegant approach to style and a woman's beauty. Mr. Rucci's collection illuminated all that is beautiful about American women, and ably demonstrated to the lucky international women who saw his show how simplicity often triumphs over decoration.
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"I loved it," a gracious and beaming Oprah told Fashionlines. "And I've found four pieces I'm buying."
Amid the swirling mink, the dusting of plumes, and the meticulous embroidery created by Lesage, the collection brought together many of the ingredients of classical French couture in an American wrapping. If Rucci's work this season lacked the lightness of the last, it got weighted down in uncharacteristically heavy wintertime motifs.
But these are uncertain times, ponderous and shifting, no more so than in the world of haute couture.
Rucci said afterwards, "I'm going to do everything possible to keep the couture line going." Which is of course the thought on most everybody's mind - will this be the last couture season?
There are lots of reasons to believe that the clock is ticking away, and that socio-economic pressures may soon spell the end of an era.
In the meantime, life is a party, and the stream of BMWs departing the Ritz headed due west for the Givenchy Soirée held at the Hôtel de Rothschild. There in the torch-lined gardens, the movers and shakers of the fashion world tippled Moët et Chandon Brut Impérial champagne until well past the bewitching hour. With a hush having fallen after Ozwald Boateng's premier for the new Givenchy men's label, only Yves Carcelle, President of Louis Vuitton, could be seen in the crowd.
"He must be thinking," said one British editor. "How on earth is Vuitton going to pay for all of this?" |
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