Episode #52
The Runway Became a Triage: Rubin Singer on Designing a Life That Survives
His first collection was set to launch on September 13, 2001. Fifty-two episodes in, this is the first time I've had another fashion designer in this chair. Rubin Singer and I have some interesting parallels. He launched his own label in 2007, the year I came home from Paris. We both started lines in New York, inside the traditional structure — market appointments, wholesale accounts, press, runway shows. We've both had to rebuild our businesses over the years and respond to recessions, COVID, and the fickleness of the fashion business. He's a third-generation couturier. His grandfather, whose name he carries, made clothes for the highest officials of the Soviet Union. His father designed costumes for the Bolshoi. Rubin was born in Vienna while his parents were defecting from the USSR, raised in Paris, and made in New York. He was in the store for two days of trunk shows and then for this live interview in front of a studio audience. At the end of September, I'm taking a group of eight of our clients to Paris for his runway show at the Palais de Tokyo, where he'll be showing alongside jewelry designer Jill Reno. We talk about the piece of lace that was his first toy, walking away from Juilliard, getting hired at Oscar de la Renta as a button sorter, dressing Beyoncé years before the Super Bowl, and why none of that put money in the bank. IN THIS EPISODE 0:00 The runway became a triage 0:52 Three generations of Singers 2:10 A piece of lace on the floor 2:35 Rebelling, ballet, and Juilliard 3:27 Two people who quit their first art 4:42 Defecting: the culture exchange and the Palais Garnier 5:07 Born on the way to France 6:33 Russian at home, French at school, English on the street 7:41 Creative careers don't come with a directory 8:38 "Actually, three" 9:04 September 13, 2001 9:31 A year he couldn't work, and the Bolshoi Opera 9:58 Carolina Herrera, the beige suit, and Kensington Palace 11:47 Fifty drawings in a box, and a job sorting buttons 12:14 Kai Milla, a severance check, and a collection built on parentheses 13:30 Linda Dresner and Vogue 13:57 Beyoncé first, then Alicia Keys, then Glenn Close 15:12 Why celebrity placement doesn't equal sales 17:31 Falling flat on your face is the tuition 18:48 Cash flow, factors, and Super Smile toothpaste 21:12 Be new — but not too new 23:54 What QVC taught him about himself 26:21 Relaunching ready-to-wear in Paris 29:04 Designing a life that fits you 29:57 Listening to what your blood whispers 30:20 The Lightning Round 32:26 Close MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE rubinsinger.com @rubinsinger His favorite book to give FULL SHOW NOTES AND TRANSCRIPT https://davidpeck.co/podcast/rubinsinger CONNECT davidpeck.co @itsdavidpeck on Threads, Instagram, and TikTok If this episode was useful, a rating or a quick review helps more people find the show.
