Rui Zhou was born in a small city in the middle of China surrounded by mountains and trees, which influenced her interest in the nature of things. Ms. Zhou appreciates the beauty in the imperfection, the unfinished, broken, or even unloved. Her brand RUI explores the duality of all things, the relations between matters and beings, always in a more philosophical way. RUI is not about the clothing itself; it is always about the dialogue and interaction with the human body.
 
After graduating from Parsons, Ms. Zhou’s collection showed at New York Fashion Week in 2018 and 2019. During that time, she was selected as a H&M Design Award semi-finalist and won the CFDA+ 2018 Design Graduate and Elaine Gold Launch Pad 3.0. After working for Alexander Wang and DKNY, she launched her eponymous brand RUI in 2019. Ms. Zhou was awarded the Karl Lagerfeld Prize by LVMH in 2021 and became the first-ever Chinese designer to win a LVMH award. She was also a finalist for the 2022 International Woolmark Prize.
 
Ms. Zhou and her brand have received media attention from Vogue, i-D, Dazed, Harper’s Bazaar, ELLE, T Magazine, BOF, WWD, among others. Since its establishment, RUI has been loved by global stars, including Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, Solange, P!nk, Olivia Rodrigo, and more. In 2021, RUI was handpicked for Gucci's retail platform Gucci Vault. Ms. Zhou's designs have been showcased multiple times at Paris Fashion Week and have earned her numerous accolades in both Chinese and international fashion competitions.
 
Ms. Zhou earned a bachelor of arts at Tsinghua University in Beijing and graduated from Parsons The New School with a master of fine arts in fashion design and society.