Life After RISD: Checking in with Alum Robert Geller

Menswear designer Robert Geller 01 AP got his first job in the industry at Marc Jacobs in New York City when he was still a student at RISD. There he met the love of his life and began a career that would include launching his own brands and collaborating with partners from around the world. Today, he lives in Portugal and heads up menswear design at Rag & Bone in New York. Here he shares his thoughts about life after college and lessons learned at RISD that continue to resonate.

Tell us a little bit about your professional practice and what you’re currently working on.
For the past two and a half years I have been heading up menswear design at Rag & Bone. They were acquired by a big company, the Guess Group, and were looking for someone to guide them through this time of change. 

They’re based in New York, but you’re living in Portugal, right?
I moved to a coastal village outside of Lisbon seven years ago, but I travel back and forth to the States. All the product reviews and photo shoots are in New York, which is super-fast-paced and high-energy. Life in Portugal is a bit slower. It feels like California but European at the same time. 

How has living in Europe influenced your style?
Originally, I’m from Germany, I’m European. I lived there until I went to RISD when I was 20. So, my design has always been a mixture of American and European. I had my own brand for 14 or 15 years, and my production partner was in Japan, so you can see those influences in my designs as well. I take the elegance from Europe, the toughness and grit from New York, and a bit of the fun from the Japanese. 

How is working for Rag & Bone different from designing for your own brand?
Having your own brand is like driving a little speedboat. You can zoom around, change direction, fine-tune, and follow your moods. When you’re working with a large company like Rag & Bone, every move is super-important. You’re responsible for everybody. The decisions you make still need to be bold, but they need to be much more considered. There are more people you have to convince and more levers you have to pull to make it happen. 

“Having your own brand is like driving a little speedboat. You can zoom around, change direction, fine-tune, and follow your moods.”

Menswear designer Robert Geller

I read that you began your RISD journey as a photographer. What inspired you to major in Apparel Design?
My dad’s a fashion photographer, and I grew up in the studio. I got my first camera when I was 12 and started developing film when I was 13. When I graduated from high school, I assisted photographers in Germany for two years before I went to RISD. During Foundation Year, my mind opened and I started drawing. I decided not to major in Photography because I wanted to learn something new.

What lessons did you learn at RISD that you still carry with you today? 
I loved Foundation Year when they make you do projects you have no idea how to do! First you think you can’t do it. And then you do it and realize that you can do it. You just need to apply your smarts and your time, and you can do anything. I think that’s the most valuable thing I got from RISD: that confidence you come out with, that ability to figure it out.

Is there a particular assignment or studio experience that still stands out?
There was a project where they gave you a piece of cardboard and you had to build a bridge that spanned, I think, 45 inches. You couldn’t use tape or anything. It had to hold a brick on top without breaking. I had no experience in structural engineering, but I went to the library and researched bridges. I found this bridge in Venice where the bottom is round and the top is sort of stepped, which they said makes this strong structure. So I tried it out. The teacher was filming and had brought a stack of bricks. Everyone’s bridge managed to hold a brick, and mine held like 38 bricks before it broke. It’s not what you know; it’s what you trust yourself to do. 

Any advice for students and young designers just starting out?
Just soak it all in while you’re at RISD. It’s a privilege to be there. Afterwards, do whatever you can. It doesn’t have to be the perfect job. When you start applying for jobs, they hire you for your experiences, not for your GPA. So, go out and have experiences! Try things out, learn from the experiences, and see what feels right.

Life After RISD is an ongoing series featuring alumni making outsized impact in culture and industry. Stay tuned for more from our graduates on how RISD has helped to shape their practices and the way they engage with the world. 

Simone Solondz / top photo by Niko Margaros
May 18, 2026