BEGINNINGS: BORN INTO FASHION

The first Rubin Singer was born in 1914 as one of 13 children in Poland during a pivotal time in history— Poland had originally been an independent kingdom but by the late 18th century it had been divided up between Russia, Austria-Hungary and Germany.

By 1930, Rubin Singer lived in Warsaw Poland & Paris and built a spectacular reputation as a menswear couture/ bespoke designer and creator. During the German occupation of Warsaw 1937-38, the singer family began to endure the harsh new realities of Jewish life in pre-war Poland. By 1939 Rubin (a couture designer) and his brothers Tadre (a prodigy mathematician) & Michael (a baker) were the only surviving members of his family when a firing squad opened fire on their family. Pretending to be dead, the 3 remaining Singer sons were covered by their executed family until they escaped and fled to Russia.

By 1940, the Singers were living in Dombas Russia during the hardest times in Russian history. Forced to flee Poland, Rubin was then captured by the Soviets and forced to work in a coal mine. Refusing to work any longer in the coal mines, Rubin challenged the guards by saying that “he [I] would be better used to make suits for the Kernel.” For the decade of 1940-1950, Rubin dressed the Kernel and eventually rose in the ranks of couture design to ultimately dress all the Soviet political elite.

In 1942 Rubin married Ellen and one year later little Alik singer (iconic couture designer) was born . In 1946, Rubin moved to Moscow with his family.

In Moscow, Rubin was given his own floor inside the Guum (the most iconic dept store in Russia) . Rubin quickly became the most important man in history for menswear in Russia.

Alik, Rubin’s only son, began designing clothing at age 13 when his mother died in 1956, and worked alongside his father as a sewer.

Rubin closed his floor in the infamous department store to turn his sights to the Russian ballet and opera—to design male and female costumes during what would be come the golden era of Russian arts . And from 1967-1969, Alik worked for the top fashion houses in Russia.

In the early 70’s, Rubin left Russia for Italy, and died shortly thereafter. Alik met the love of his life, Nina, in Russia and moved to Vienna in 1978, where Rubin Singer was born. Alik Singer quickly moved his family in 1978 to Paris to create his first couture womenswear fashion collection.

During the 1980’s, Alik moved to New York City from Paris and In1983, Alik opened a store named Alik Singer on Madison Ave….including a prolific retail business that included 260 retailers across the country including Bergdorf Goodman, Henri Bendel, and Neiman Marcus

During the 80’s, Alik dressed iconic names like Danielle Steele, Patty LaBelle, Whoopi Goldberg, Joan Collins, Iman, Liza Minelli….And appeared in Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, NY Times, Elle, & L’Officiel.

Rubin was deeply involved in ballet until the age of 18, when his beloved mother, Nina, passed away, and his focus changed from ballet to fashion. His fashion beginnings started with an wardrobe apprenticeship at the The Bolshoi Opera —one of the oldest and best known opera companies in the world.

From Moscow, Rubin returned to NYC where he worked for iconic fashion brands such as Oscar deRenta & Bill Blass. Rubin’s first couture fashion private client was Carolina Herrera, herself who wore his first-publicly seen-gown to Prince Michael of Kent’s summer ball in Kensington Palace.

By age 27, Rubin launched his first runway collection titled Under Construction (viewable in shows section), where he garnered national fame for what would ultimately become the iconic cuts, fits & drapes that are worn around the world today.

By the end of the 2000’s, Rubin Singer was moving full-steam-ahead, with many successful collections.

In the 2010’s , everything aligned for couture designer, Rubin Singer. Landing his first magazine cover [Harpers Bazaar 2009 and Women’s Wear Daily in 2010], countless fashion magazines followed… A mix of press, and endless stream of celebrities wearing his creations and and top tier retail distribution catapulted the young designer into international stardom. Following in his father’s footsteps, the young Rubin Singer designed couture clothing for legendary icons including Mariah Carey, Glenn Close, Beyonce, and Taylor Swift.

In late 2020, Rubin launched a collection with QVC, and brought fashion to the real American woman. With success on QVC continuing into 2023 Rubin has turned his focus to the creation of a Ready-to-Wear line to further reach women across the country with timeless, stunning fashion.