SS09 Runway Review: Rubin Singer

Rubin Singer is a designer with a head for elegance, and his newest collection once more taps into his classic-fresh aesthetic, incorporating fun pop elements into classic fashion forms.


Images courtesy of Coutorture.com

Stripes and polka-dots are leveraged with careful grace in much of the evening wear, colored in strong blacks and lovely champagne hues. The combination is timeless, yet not as severe as the black/white duo often associated with these forms. Whether it's popping dots on a full length gown, or bold candy-stripes on a short no-nonsense number, the results are dresses that succeed in being both extremely elegant and divinely fun. The music played during the display of these pieces was built around lines by Sinatra, who I feel really encapsulates the spirit of these outfits - that suave formality, with a charming, devilish sense of fun.


Images courtesy of Coutorture.com

Outerwear was also very notable in this collection, playing off of dramatic, bold shapes and larger-than-life details. Audible praise could be heard in the audience at the appearance of the champagne jacket, bearing an over-sized hood and striped interior. A cool silver woodgrain fabric was a nice counterpoint to the warmth of the champagne/black combinations, and a unique way to modernize such an organic design.


Images courtesy of Coutorture.com

Prints were splashy and painterly, shown in either a vivacious wash of orange, blues and violet or a subtler inky blue, whose mountain and fan shapes seem to carry an Asian influence. Pieces utilizing these fabrics were less structured, and more loose and flowing, centering on the movement of the fabric to fully convey the loose movement translated in the fabric print.

All together, the collection was a brilliant introduction to Fashion Week - Singer is a classic designer, and his collection this season is an exciting preview of the season to come.