“Tradition With a Twist”: How Designer Robert Rufino Turns Storefronts Into Stages

TUESDAY 5:37 PM SEPTEMBER 16, 2025 GREENWICH VILLAGE

Robert Rufino has spent decades turning panes of glass into stages. Before shaping the look of Architectural Digest, Tiffany & Co., and House Beautiful, among many others, the born-and-bred New Yorker cut his teeth in the 70’s at Henri Bendel, where the extravagant window displays looked more like “street theater.” Now, for The Current Vol. 6, The Urban Electric Co.’s annual artbook-meets-magazine, Rufino has transformed Greenwich Village storefronts into globe-trotting tableaus—from an Austrian castle to a Japanese tearoom, each made with his discerning eye and elegant sensibility. Over a cigarette at the curbside launch party on Tuesday night, Rufino reflected on his most memorable encounter with Andy Warhol, why a great sofa matters as much as a great suit, and the importance of living life large. “Just do it,” he says.

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OLAMIDE OYENUSI: What are you smoking today?

ROBERT RUFINO: Well, I don’t really smoke, but if I did, I would smoke Dunhill.

OYENUSI: Are eyes the windows to the soul?

RUFINO: Absolutely. Windows are about storytelling. When I started doing windows in my early twenties, we called the windows “street theater.” 

OYENUSI: Would you say that your style leans more play or musical?

RUFINO: I would say a combination.

OYENUSI: What’s your favorite show?

RUFINO: My favorite show many years ago was Sunday in the Park with George, with Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin.

OYENUSI: Based on the painting, right?

RUFINO: Yes, yes. The musical, costumes—it was just a period piece. I haven’t seen a good play in a long time.

OYENUSI: What are you wearing? You look very dapper.

RUFINO: I’m a big Ralph Lauren fan. I’ve always worn Ralph Lauren. I’m a 37 short—that’s supposed to be Ralph’s size. I used to wear a lot of Purple Label at one point in my career. I worked at Tiffany’s, and I wore beautiful suits, cufflinks, and ties every day.

OYENUSI: Was there an inspiration for your outfit today?

RUFINO: No. My friend Mish is a jewelry designer and I only wear his cufflinks, even when I worked for Tiffany’s. I believe if one is comfortable and finds their own style, they should stick to that. I’m not trendy. I believe in tradition with a twist. I could have worn a tie but I thought, “Well, let’s make it a little bit more relaxed.” This is a vintage little handkerchief, wrapped around my neck.

OYENUSI: What’s one item that everyone needs in their closet?

RUFINO: A good watch.

OYENUSI: What’s your watch of choice?

RUFINO: I love my Hermès watch. Back in the day I wore an inexpensive Timex watch. Or I’ll wear vintage watches.

 

OYENUSI: Which is the best—New York, Paris, Milan, or London Fashion Week? 

RUFINO: I love London. I just love it. I relate to the people. Besides English muffins. I just love the whole ambience, the way people carry themselves. The British accent gets me all the time. And their Fashion Week is more original. They have their own voice and that’s fantastic. 

OYENUSI: What’s your favorite material to work with?

RUFINO: I love menswear fabric. In my foyer, the walls are all upholstered in menswear plaids. My bedroom has windowpane wool and cashmere fabric for the headboard, and I have screens made of it. I like anything that’s menswear. In one apartment, I have a beautiful day bed and all the pillows are made of men’s silk tie fabrics. I call my apartment “The Gentleman’s Salon.”

OYENUSI: What era are you in?

RUFINO: I could walk right into Downton Abbey and be very happy. I love Downton Abbey, and I wish I could wear a padded wig and knickers and all of that.

OYENUSI: What’s the chicest department store in Manhattan?

RUFINO: Well, it doesn’t exist anymore, but Henri Bendel at 10 West 57th Street. Most people don’t know what that is today, but it was a townhouse and I started my career there when I was in my early twenties. We called the first floor “the street of shops,” and you felt you were walking down an alleyway in Milan. Every shop had a different facade. Everything was painted white. The ceilings were like 45-feet tall and it was just the best music, best shoe department, best accessories. So many designers started there.

OYENUSI: Such as?

RUFINO: Such as Sonia Rykiel, Jean Muir, Armani, Chloé, and Zandra Rhodes.

OYENUSI: What’s one item that everyone needs in their home?

RUFINO: A great sofa. Get yourself a comfortable bed. For years I slept on a French day bed. I still have it. Buy something that’s comfortable and usable.

OYENUSI: You’re a born and raised New Yorker, right?

RUFINO: I was born and raised in New York City. I was brought up in Chinatown and I went to missionary school.

OYENUSI: What’s the best restaurant interior in New York City?

RUFINO: A place I never get tired of because I love the atmosphere is Indochine. I still love the vibe—it’s looked the same for 30 years. I also love Balthazar. I love the energy.

OYENUSI: Which celebrity home interior deserves an Architectural Digest cover?

RUFINO: I used to work for AD, but I would love to see Meryl Streep. I think she’s very private and I don’t know what she’s like, but she was once our customer at Bendel’s. Another person I adore is Diana Ross. I would love to see how she lives. When I did the windows at Bendel’s, we used to have these crazy wigs, and she wanted to know where I bought mine. It was fun.

OYENUSI: What makes you feel beautiful?

RUFINO: When I’m at peace with myself.

OYENUSI: Who are you in private?

RUFINO: I am very private. Most people think they know me, but they don’t. Because I love what I do, I know a lot of people, but very few people really know me. I don’t live a fantasy life, I just live a quiet private life. And as you get older, you don’t need a lot. You really need to be surrounded by the things you love.

OYENUSI: What’s your sign?

RUFINO: I’m Aries, quiet fire. Quiet, but I’m feisty and driven.

OYENUSI: What did success solve for you?

RUFINO: Success offers me happiness. You meet a lot of people on different shoots, whether it’s for design or fashion or windows. New York is very competitive and you have to believe in who you are. You can’t look to the left or the right. And if you make a mistake, it’s okay.

OYENUSI: What was your worst idea?

RUFINO: I did a fashion window for Henri Bendel and Comme de Garçons and we added a silly prop: having all the mannequins carry footballs. What was I thinking? I have no idea.

OYENUSI: What’s wrong with your generation?

RUFINO: I grew up and my career started in the 70s. New York was steaming. You had Studio 54, you had Central Park. There was a whole different energy. Different stores going on. You had Halston, you had Elsa Peretti. It was so individualistic. People expressed themselves differently. There was freedom and I think today people get so caught up in all this black, or “I only wear Prada…”

OYENUSI: Everyone was wearing black at Fashion Week like it’s the only color that exists!

RUFINO: [Laughs] Yeah, I know.

OYENUSI: What’s your favorite memory with Andy Warhol?

RUFINO: My boss and I were doing a sales window and she said, “Oh, I think Andy has a big elephant.” And in her office, she had all these beautiful illustrations that he did, so I was always obsessed with Andy Warhol. So I said, “Can I borrow your elephant?” It was brown but I said, “I want to paint it white.”

OYENUSI: Are diamonds a girl’s best friend?

RUFINO: Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but the best diamonds ever were Elsa Peretti’s Diamonds by the Yard. After working for Tiffany, my relationship with Elsa was very, very special. She used to call me Rufi and she understood me and appreciated the art I created. Even after I left Tiffany, she hired me for her 35th anniversary and I went to many different places to create exhibitions for her. She became a very good friend. She was very inspirational, she was fearless. There’ve been a lot of women who have been my boss who are fearless. And you know what? Live life large. Why not? People are like, “you’re crazy.” But what’s crazy and what’s good taste?