The studied and the improvised collide in ready-to-wear of Ruffian. The winner of the 2006 Fashion Group International Rising Star Award, the line has caught the attention of Cate Blanchett, Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Kate Moss with its fashion-forward designs. In this book, author Nicole Phelps follows designers Brian Wolk and Claude Morais through their creative process for two seasons, from sketching in the studio to the final fluffing of ruffles before they are debuted on the New York runways. Drawing on such inspirations as Madame de Pompadour, 1970s punk, and rebellious boarding-school girls, Wolk and Morais smash these archetypes and rebuild them slightly askew.