Q&A: New York couture designer Rubin Singer

From Mariah Carey to Lea Michele, Heidi Klum and the one and only Queen Bey… Rubin Singer’s designs have graced many A-listers already despite his relatively recent career.

Taking inspiration from his surrounding – from architecture to most recently ancient Egypt – the New York-based designer is as faithful to his craft as you could imagine as someone who comes from a family with couture background.

As he visits Singapore to showcase his latest collection at the Audi Red Carpet Gala Night during the Audi Fashion Festival, we caught up with Rubin to talk more about his inspiration, couture and THAT unforgettable Super Bowl 2013 outfit he designed for Beyoncé.

Marie France Asia: Fashion – especially couture – runs in your family history. How much influence did that have on you to be a fashion designer yourself?

Rubin Singer: My line of industry reminds me on a consistent basis of the work that my father did because I learned my craft under the tutelage of him. To me, it is the backbone of who I am today and it has transformed me in ways that I myself can’t explain.

Marie France Asia: Why ‘couture’?

Rubin Singer: Designing clothing for a specific customer is an art in itself. It is very fulfilling to understand the customers’ needs and their personal style and then translate it into a piece of clothing that accentuates their beauty. With couture, I challenge my creativity by designing unique pieces that don’t necessarily have to adhere to majority’s preference in fashion.

Marie France Asia: You have started your career working at Oscar de la Renta. Did that have any impact on your development as a designer and your style?

Rubin Singer: Working under Oscar de la Renta has taught me to become a professional. It gave me the finishing and polishing to what it means to have a perspective when creating my designs.

Marie France Asia: You have dressed many celebrities, most notably Beyoncé, for her music videos and her famed Super Bowl performance. How was working with her like? How did that impact your career?

Rubin Singer: That would have to be the various opportunities that I received to design for incredible women like Beyoncé, Heidi Klum and Mariah Carey. Working with Beyoncé was a huge undertaking and a privilege because she is one of the most involved, aware and insightful of all my clients. She is a true lady. While it was a tremendous challenge to have less than 2 months to prepare for her Super Bowl 2013, it was a surreal experience to be able to tweak and rework my designs to suit her choreography and production of the performance. I worked hard on this project for six weeks straight and there was a lot of readjustments for the measurements of my designs as Beyoncé had lost a lot of weight and her body was constantly changing. Another challenge would be to design costumes that did not restrict her movements during the performance but look extraordinary at the same time. That taught me to be really flexible with my designs and work with what I have on hand.

Marie France Asia: How would you describe the woman you design for, i.e. who is the Rubin Singer woman?

Rubin Singer: My designs revolve around the client and her personality because I feel that it is about the sense of oneself that makes the design stand out. I believe in empowering women through my designs and making them feel and look beautiful.

Marie France Asia: You’re presenting your collection at the very prestigious Audi gala night for Audi Fashion Festival. Is it your first time showing in Asia and why did you decide to take part of the event?

Rubin Singer: I am incredibly excited about this trip to Singapore as it is a great opportunity for me to showcase my work. Singapore is one of the best countries with great fashion and I am proud and privileged to be able to showcase my work to the people here. With the mixed culture in Singapore, it also means it’s the mixture of fashion from the very best. Fashion here is very unique and special from a different perspective.

Marie France Asia:  What do you think of the rising ‘couture’ scene in Asia?

Rubin Singer: I think it is great that Asia is open to exploring the couture scene as the fashion industry in many Asian countries is still very conservative. However, there is also a deep and high level of appreciation for fashion and with its diversity, Asia is an exciting place for fashion to develop. There is the Asian Couture Federation that provides a platform to nurture the design talent in the region and I think it is a stepping stone for Asia to expose itself to the couture scene. Regional designers like Sebastian Gunawan, Yumi Katsura and Singapore’s Frederick Lee have some works that I really admire. So overall I think the progress in Asia is going well.

Marie France Asia:  Do you think it has to do with the increasing demand of ‘couture’ from clients in Asia?

Rubin Singer: That is definitely a factor. There has been a growing number of influential and high income earners from Asia that have high spending power and are obviously very particular about how they carry themselves too. It is not surprising for the region’s consumers to change their tastes and style, opting for more stylish fashion.

Marie France Asia: What inspires you when you design?

Rubin Singer: I get inspirations from all aspects of my life. Like for my Spring/Summer 2014 collection, I was inspired by the strong pharaoh queens of ancient Egypt. This stemmed from the ideas I had when Beyoncé asked me to work with her for her tour. We brainstormed on the different ideas revolving queens and I like how the SS’14 collection sets to stun as it combines old luxury with sophisticated tailoring and intricate draping. As for my Fall/Winter 2014 collection, it was inspired by Santiago Calatrava’s El Puente de la Mujer Bridge in Buenos Aires. Capturing the essence of a woman’s body being dipped during a tango in steel and concrete, this muse formed the direction of my boldest womenswear collection yet.

Marie France Asia: Any particular celebrity/personality you’d like to dress and why?

Rubin Singer: If given a chance, I would like to create designs for Madonna because I think she is an amazing singer with a wonderful personality to boot. It would be a great pleasure to work with her because I can relate to her style and it would be interesting to see how my designs for her will turn out.

Rana Wehbe