Carducci Woman

Francois Rall’s design heritage is significant. Spanning over two and a half decades, his career has been a journey and a discovery of true personal mastery. Today, Francois designs are at the fully evolved place where contentment and discovery go hand in hand.

Currently at the helm of design at Carducci Woman, he has successfully carved out a unique and powerful position for the brand in our country’s couture circles. In a very short space of time, the Carducci Woman Collections have gained recognition as leading the way in modern design, grand simplicity and eternal style.

Born in Cape Town and schooled in Somerset West, his love of fashion soon sent him abroad to study at the London College of Fashion followed by an apprenticeship that took him to Paris and Amsterdam. Having cut his teeth internationally Francois returned to South Africa full of passion, optimism and talent.

He was discovered in the late 80’s by the Editor of Cosmopolitan who commissioned the young Francois to design a dress for a relatively unknown Tanya Fourie, for their latest cover. Success for Francois was overnight. He opened his own couture boutique and has continued to dress South African a-list celebrities far and wide.

Two years later he was approached to be the South African Designer for Daniel Hechter. Here he worked alongside Monsieur Hechter for over 7 years until the Monsieur retired. Having experienced the best of it, Francois moved on to a large retailer specializing in fashion trend forecasting where he was able to sharpen his commercial skills significantly. It is the rare combination of design fantasy underpinned with this commercial reality that has positioned Francois so uniquely in South African design. If there is one word that explains his philosophy it is ‘simplicity’. It extends from the individual garments and into his long lasting vision. “In our crazy world, we must be uncomplicated. Personally, I believe lasting design is captured in an essence, a nuance rather than a shouting statement” says Francois.

Francois signature statement is the little black dress which according to him is the ideal canvas from which to create surprise. Francois achieves this perfectly time and time again as they are each masterfully designed and created from fabrics that are entirely alive. Together on a ramp they transcend the concept of clothing into a moving meditation that honour simplicity, balance and harmony.

True style is timeless and it seems that with Francois Rall it is everlasting.

CONTACT:
Tel + 27 (0) 21 442 9471
http://www.monatic.co.za

STOCKISTS:
Stuttafords:
Sandton, Menlyn, East Gate, Gateway, Canal Walk, Gaborone, Windhoek
Selected independents Country wide.