Engineering
Engineering: Ralph Rucci and His Infanta
Ralph Rucci’s Infantas are comparable in terms of grandeur and complexity of construction to
the evening dresses of Charles James. But Rucci is the opposite of James when it comes to
his clients: a strong advocate for women, Rucci never disregards their needs for comfort and
ease of movement.
He insists that there be no heavy or rigid understructures or
petticoats. Infantas vary in color and pattern. The surface of one
garment is punctuated with overlapping circles, while another is
made of suspended pieces of ink-black duchesse satin infused
with smaller bits of olive green silk. In a third, black, gold, and
cinnabar red satin have been calibrated to evoke Robert
Motherwell’s series of paintings, Elegy to the Spanish Republic.
