RUHN is a seamless blend of the most form flattering aspects of activewear and suiting meshed together to create a new option for women who want to look and feel comfortable, professional, and sexy. We love a beautifully tailored suit and the confidence boost it gives- but it’s not exactly our outfit of choice when we want to go from the office to the bar or dinner, or if we want cleaner, sexier but still tailored pieces to mix and match with our jeans. Working in fashion in New York for years I got tired of clothes that were small in the butt and big in the waist, so RUHN pieces are tailored to fit you perfectly if you struggle with the proportions of big name European designers like me.

This clothing line was ultimately inspired by my experience as a victim (now survivor) of domestic violence from the age of 19. Something I’ve found about going through a trauma that makes people extremely uncomfortable to talk about is that you may want to discuss it into the ground because it’s a shock and can be extremely hard to process, but at the same time you don’t want to bring down the vibes by making people listen to something they don’t want to hear. And while in a perfect world we would all be open to discussing these issues without stigma or discomfort, we’re not all there yet and that’s ok. Still, I wanted to send a message, and give people a way to show support visually without needing to speak. Clothing is such a powerful way of communicating, we use it every day to tell people who we are and how we want to be seen. With RUHN, I wanted to take our nonverbal communication and create something that will communicate strength, power, and femininity, as well as send a strong message about support for victims, strength for survivors, and intolerance for abusers.

Named for the words that I came to expect after a fight, when my back ached from being slammed into the wall, my ears were ringing from profanities screamed in my face, my eyes burning from trying not to let the tears slip out for fear of being accused of playing the victim, “Are you happy now?” is a phrase that to me came to mean shame, guilt, and sick masochism. I truly felt that what happened was my fault, but now as a survivor those words have a different meaning. It took me four years to leave my abuser, a year for the divorce to go through because he wouldn’t cooperate, and 6 months of living in New York working 7 days and 80 hours a week for a whopping $17,000 a year to build a foundation for my career. But now on the other side, knowing everything I went through to get here, I am happy now. And you will be too.