Sterling Ruby to Debut Fashion Brand at Pitti Uomo

RUBY’S SOLO: American artist Sterling Ruby will be launching a ready-to-wear collection at the upcoming Pitti Uomo edition in Florence June 11 to 14.

Tapped as special guest of the trade show, Ruby will unveil the S.R. Studio. La. Ca. label with an event to be hosted at the Pagliere venue on June 13.

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Including both men’s wear and women’s wear, the brand will embody the evolution of Ruby’s artwork — which spans from painting, ceramics, collage and video to sculpture, photography and installation — revisiting the American workwear style.

“Pitti Uomo has a special spot in the world of fashion,” Ruby said. “It has affirmed itself as a central stage with its specific identity, without compromise….The invitation to be special guest at Pitti represents for me the perfect moment to realize a project I’ve been exploring privately in my studio for 10 years.”

This is not the first time Ruby has ventured into fashion, as he has frequently collaborated with Raf Simons both for the designer’s namesake label — co-creating the fall 2014 collection — and at Calvin Klein, where he conceived the brand’s offices, numerous installations for runway shows and retooled the Madison Avenue flagship in a bright yellow space. Simons and Calvin Klein parted ways late last year before his contract was up as his designs failed to ignite sales and Klein’s iconic Madison Avenue flagship was subsequently shuttered.

Ruby’s artwork is showcased in prominent international public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Tate Modern in London, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the Moderna Museet in Stockholm.

As reported last week, Givenchy will also head to Pitti Uomo for its return to the men’s runway. The French fashion house’s artistic director Clare Waight Keller is scheduled to stage her first stand-alone men’s show on June 12, with plans to return to Paris men’s fashion week next January.

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