Photo: Courtesy of Ruffian.
If the R29 beauty department could give out a Does-It-All award, the stylish guys of Ruffian would be at the top of our list. Brian Wolk and Claude Morais have never been content to simply be designers of sophisticate-meets-street-style clothing, but are constantly pushing their creative boundaries in order to make the Ruffian world come to life for its fans.
The latest venture for the multi-talented duo? A coloring book (and exclusive set of markers) featuring their spring '14 collection, created in partnership with Prismacolor. The coloring book, which will be distributed at the Ruffian spring show on Saturday, features the designers' own sketches of the line, and encourages the shows' viewers to take part in the process — and not just the final product — of the new collection.
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"We've always been a huge fan of illustrations, and we have a whole collection of vintage paper doll books," Wolk explains. "We wanted to find a fun way of presenting the design process to the audience, so we decided to give everyone the opportunity to color and style the collection — and since our show is on a Saturday, we wanted any editors' kids in the audience to have something to do!"
There will be more never-before-seen debuts at the Ruffian show that will complement the clothes — the manicures, which will be designed by Ruffian's "director of manicurial art," Cheryl Natoli, using the design house's six excuslive nail shades, and the designer's first custom shoes, created with Venice shoe designer Allagiulia.
When it comes to the hair and makeup for the show, expect a mix of French lady with a bit of British nonchalance — which fits perfectly with the baroque-badass feel of the line. "This season, we were inspired by Françoise Sagan, who wrote the novel Bonjour Tristesse in 1954," says Wolk. "She spent a lot of time in very proper St. Tropez, but she was kind of naughty, too. She drove race cars and wore leather." We can't wait to check out Wolk and Morais' latest designs — and to indulge our own creative sides, as well.