Ruffo Research (Q7473)
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Ruffo Research is a fashion house from BOF.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Ruffo Research |
Ruffo Research is a fashion house from BOF. |
Statements
The Ruffo Research collection serves two purposes: it draws attention to the experimental capabilities of one of Italy’s premier leather companies, and it acts as an incubator for young talents, who are invited to design the line in two-season stints.For spring 2003, Haider Ackermann, a 31-year-old resident of Antwerp, Belgium, took up the Ruffo baton, previously held by fellow countrymen A.F. Vandevorst, Ve;ronique Branquinho and Raf Simons. Does Ackermann share their Belgian moodiness? Yes, but with his own angle. Like many current post-deconstructionist designers, he interprets “edge” to mean a respect for quality and elegance that can appeal to a sophisticated audience.His instinct is to upgrade cool street clothes for grown-ups. Here, that meant track pants in a flattering cut, narrow jackets, easy dress shapes and subdued grays, brown and white. He met the Ruffo challenge by folding and weaving its suedes and leathers as if they were fabric. He turned the softest suede into sunburst-pleated skirts and poncho dresses and made slim track pants out of fine plissé skins. The best pieces were a brilliantly cut plain mushroom pinafore with a sexy racer back and a delicately pleated and perforated white skirt.
28 September 2002
Ruffo Research is a kind of nursery project for new fashion talent. Each year, an independent design company is selected to do two guest collections, enjoying the benefits of Ruffo’s extraordinary expertise in producing leather. This fall is the second and final season for Alexandre Matthieu, the French partnership of Alexandre Morgado and Matthieu Bureau.The design duo’s signature is a young Parisian version of feminine street-chic, a vision they expressed via seamed corset tops and dresses shown over sweatshirts, and coats and pants decorated with geometric-patterned overstitching. The opportunity to experiment with Ruffo’s leather techniques produced distressed chestnut leather jackets, a long cable-stitch cardigan knitted from leather yarn, and what looked like white-painted crackled surfaces on bombers decorated with sliced fringing. The standouts were the gold leather biker coat and satchels, one of which was also gold, reminiscent of army surplus bags.Alexandre Matthieu’s relatively quiet shows came after a succession of edgier Ruffo guest designers: Véronique Branquinho, Raf Simons, A.F. Vandevorst and Sophia Kokosalaki. Speculation on who’s been headhunted for 2003 will be settled by a formal announcement in April.
2 March 2002
Since launching their Research line in 1998, which is entrusted to a different designer every year, Ruffo Research has become an important talent scout in Milan. This season, Alexandre Morgado and Matthieu Bureau, who have already made a name for themselves with the playful collections they’ve designed under their signature label, Alexandre Matthieu, brought an infusion of lighthearted energy to the Ruffo runway.Treating leather like fabric, the duo sent out punched-suede camisoles, perky little suits trimmed with delicate buckles, and great shift dresses with dangling chrysanthemum cutouts. The pièce de résistance was a distressed leather-strip skirt, which swished and sashayed as if it were pleated chiffon. Bureau and Morgado also devised a logo for the brand, in the form of glittery R’s that turned up on dresses and shirts.In the past, Ruffo Research has employed talents as diverse as Antonio Berardi, Raf Simons and Veronique Branquinho, An Vandevorst and Filip Arickx, and Sophia Kokosalaki. With fashion editors and clients constantly on the hunt for new ideas, the Ruffo team clearly understands that promoting innovation is not only desirable, but in some cases absolutely necessary.
29 September 2001
Once again Ruffo Research managed to inject a powerful dose of street smarts into an otherwise conventional Milanese fashion week.Sophia Kokosalaki’s second and final collection for the well-known leather house gave a lesson in strong femininity. Chocolate-suede dresses edged in black leather looked simultaneously sweet and deathly cool; savage-looking braided straps, odd bits of tulle and featherlike tufts of goat skin gave a primitive edge to perfectly cut tops. But Kokosalaki also proved that she can go for classic design—with an edge, of course. Her long leather coat stands out miles from the pack thanks to a simple diagonal row of buttons; a black leather blazer is decorated with a trompe-l'oeil lapel trim, and a sharp skirt reveals a teardrop of skin at the hips. Kokosalaki also scored a hit with several divine sheared shearling coats that put the softest of furs to shame.With its sharp eye for recognizing and nurturing new talent, Ruffo Research is proving to be not only a powerful innovator in Italian fashion, but also a key label for insiders.
4 March 2001
Sophia Kokosalaki reworked some of the themes she had explored in London with her signature line, this time around focusing exclusively on leather. Her palette was light and frothy—pale rose, cappuccino, blush tan. But the main strength of the collection lay in the innovative ways in which leather and suede were treated like ordinary fabric. Paneled skirts were clipped asymmetrically at the hem, resembling glued-together strips of Band-Aids; an extraordinary one-shoulder black dress was twisted into a knot and suspended by a single strap of spaghettilike leather cords. Roomy trousers were pleated along the side and cuffed, worn with a light top and held together with a sash belt. Even the shoes made a statement—gathered pumps and mesh ankle boots grounded the looks.Kokosalaki’s silhouette clearly referenced the ’80s, but the end result was fresh and innovative, thanks especially to the skill with which skins were manipulated.
2 October 2000
Belgian design team A.F. Vandervoorst has come to define a new kind of laid-back cool. Designing their second collection for Ruffo Research, the duo turned their attention to the Harley-Davidson set. Their presentation took place in a large space decorated like a beer hall—the perfect setting for rugged motorcycle men and their babes to display a series of plush furs, tan shearling pullovers with unfinished edges and long leather coats. There were also trompe-l’oeil leather jeans and jackets, and leather trousers treated to look like corduroy. More urban were the long asymmetric skirts and cropped bomber jackets, worn with calf-high boots. In all, A.F. Vandervoorst presented a fun, witty line that underscores Ruffo Research’s growing reputation as one of the most interesting breeding grounds for highly original talent.
20 February 2000
A.F. Vandervoorst took over the reigns at Ruffo Research this year from Raf Simons and Veronique Branquinho, who had imbued the traditional leather goods company with a more experimental edge. The transition couldn't have been smoother: A.F. Vandervoorst’s collection was brave, innovative and brilliant, reworking traditional biker and hospital uniforms into luxurious leather ensembles, some with unexpected details like asymmetrical closures and sleeves, others strikingly simple and clean. Ruffo Research provided a very welcome jolt of inspiration to Milan fashion week; some of their pieces, like the white, paper-thin hospital lab coats, distressed trousers and heavily pleated skirts, are sure to become instant cult classics with the forward-thinking set.
27 September 1999