NEW YORK — What’s makes a Chado Ralph Rucci black cocktail dress different from the countless other lovely black cocktail dresses presented at New York Fashion Week? It’s all in the craftsmanship.

Rucci, the only American to be invited to show Haute Couture in Paris under his own name, is a stickler for details, resulting in fine clothes that need to be seen, felt — and probably even better, worn — to be fully appreciated.
For evening, Rucci’s interest in the human body was brought to a handful of artsy prints — prints that would be hard to imagine at a socialite gala. A museum opening party, perhaps?
The black-tie pieces that showed Rucci’s fascination with Japanese culture fared better. (“Chado” was added to his company name in 1994 after a tea ceremony.) A black-and-gold kabuki gown with an obi waist and checkerboard shawl and a strapless vanilla-silk gown with elaborate gold-wing arms were the kinds of pieces that make a positive, long-lasting impression.