Ruben Toledo

“You must do what you love, even when no one else is loving it.

In fact, that’s when it counts the most...”

N

ato all’Havana di Cuba nel 1960, trasferitosi presto

conlafamigliaaNewYork,RubenToledoépittore,

scultore, illustratore, cronista e critico di moda,

nonché spirito surrealista di chiara fama. I continui, repentini

cambiamenti della moda e il linguaggio corporeo dello stile

sono due costanti che appaiono nel suo lavoro, naturalmente

ispirato da un gusto latino, ma che deve molto, per la sua

capacità di moderna sintesi, anche alla cultura pop americana.

Ruben Toledo é l’artista autore del celebre Style Dictionary,

una collezione di immagini indimenticabili, nella forma

di disegni e acquarelli, che fondono l’effimero della moda

all’essere eterno dello stile. Ha dipinto murali, ritratti, copertine

di album. Inoltre é stato l’ispirato artefice di personalissime

illustrazioni per le più importanti riviste della moda quali

Uomo Vogue, Harper’s Bazar, Paper e Interview. I suoi lavori

sono stati esposti al Metropolitan Museum of Art di New

York. La moglie di Ruben, Isabel Toledo é affermata stilista e

designerdimodanonchésuamusaeparteindissolubiledei

suoi progetti. La loro continua collaborazione, ha prodotto un

libro e una mostra dal titolo Toledo-Toledo: un matrimonio tra

arte e moda, realizzata al Museum of Fashion and Technology

diNewYork,cittàdoveentrambivivonoelavorano.

R

uben toledo was born in Havana, Cuba in 1960, and

movedtoNewYorkwithhisfamilywhenhewasjust

a child. He is painter, sculptor, illustrator, reporter and

fashion chronicler, as well as surrealist wit of great renown. The

continuous, sudden changes of fashion and the body language

of style are two constant themes of his work which is naturally

inspired by a latin flavour but which is also strictly connected

with the American pop culture for its capability of modern

synthesis. Ruben Toledo is the author of the famous “Style

Dictionary”, a collection of unforgettable images which, under

the form of drawings and watercolours, meld fashion at its

most ephemeral with style at its most abiding.?He has painted

murals, portraits and album covers. He has been also the

inspired creator of very personal illustrations for the top fashion

magazines, among them “Uomo Vogue”, “Harper’s Bazar”,

“Paper” and “Interwiew”. Toledo’s work has been exhibited in

the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Ruben’s

wife,IsabelToledo,isatalentedstylistandfashiondesigner,

both muse and indissoluble element of his art projects. Their

continuous collaboration was the subject of both a book and

a museum exhibition called “Toledo-Toledo: a marriage of art

andfashion”attheMuseumofFashionandTechnologyin

New York City, where they both live and work.

CUBAN BLACK

CUBAN VERANDA

ISABEL, RUBEN

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Ruben Toledo, portrait

(Photo by Randall Bachner)

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