The Ralph Lauren show is one of the most anticipated in the fashion business, number one to see what he is wearing and number two to see how warmly he recognizes his family, always his most enthusiastic section.
On Monday night, everyone felt like family at his offices at 650 Madison Avenue, where the designer, dressed in a turquoise and black Western shirt, presented his fall/holiday collection to an audience of just 100 people and then danced a little down the catwalk. with his wife Ricky, with whom he will soon celebrate 60 years of marriage.
Several people gasped, including executive vice president of men's fashion, Jerry Lauren, who along with his brother has been shaping American style for more than half a century. “I always tell him, Ralph, it's the best thing you've ever done,” he said later.
Sensing that perhaps a certain fatigue has set in around grand luxury in the hands of that dynastic fashion family in France, with its traveling shows and fuss, and collections that often borrow from American style, Lauren thought small and reminded us everyone why he is the king of American sportswear. She did so by going back to the beginning, remembering her first women's ready-to-wear collection in 1972, when she spoke to editors about the collection and felt, as she put it, like “Mr. “Haute couture.”
“I wanted to make something very simple and easy,” he said during a preview. “It is not a single story, not a single statement. I don't think young women dress like that nowadays, nor does anyone. They mix, they want to be informal and eclectic and have a voice.”
With beautiful clothes that are unmistakably Ralph Lauren. “I don't have any fashion statements… We've always been laid-back and luxurious. And we have always made men's clothing; Menswear is big or cowboy hats, Western, those are all part of us,” she said.
There was something refreshing about clothes that didn't try so hard to be cool or stick to the latest celebrity. (There were only a handful of stars at the show, which wasn't even broadcast live.) Ease was the message, which has always been Lauren's calling card, this season with sleek, lived-in luxury and subtle nods to menswear and denim trends. The designer has been doing it for decades, walking the catwalks of Paris and Milan in recent seasons, from the Louis Vuitton men's collection to Prada.
Christy Turlington opened the show like an old friend, still fabulous in a gray coat, matching shirt and tie, pants and cowboy boots, which looked great paired with the tailoring.
There was an art to the combination of a silver beaded backless top over gray suede pants, a jacket with patches of 12 different fabrics over chocolate brown leather pants, and a ripped leather ranch jacket and pants with a cowboy hat and a shorts. handkerchief-style tie that somehow managed not to look sophisticated.
Looking at the muted palette, cable-knit sweaters over bias-cut silk or layered tulle skirts, and sparkling details like a crystal mesh polo, Brunello Cucinelli came to mind. But Lauren was already into ready-to-wear when Cuccinelli was just a line of colorful cashmere sweaters. So who influences whom? It's time to remember the source.
After the show, everyone headed to the Polo Bar for dinner. There were sprinter vans, but it was hot and some people were walking, including a group of models who were also a snapshot of a time when the fashion world was small.
Still wearing their runway looks, with street clothes in brown paper bags, they laughed and smiled the entire way, almost stopping traffic on Madison Avenue. Was it a stealth social media campaign? Did Ralph tell you to go outside? “No, but it would be a great announcement,” one of them said.
Yes, but even more charming that it wasn't.
