André Leon Talley called him “a fashion Fabergé egg.” Oprah once called his work “a religious experience.” He’s the first American to show on the Paris couture schedule under his own name since Mainbocher in the 1930s.

This season, as he launches his new couture line, RR331, he tells Fern Mallis about the journey—and the respect, passion and discipline for detail, care, artistry and grace—that brought him to this position as America’s premier couturier.