Ralph Lauren told an equestrian story for his fall Purple Label collection, which seduced with its jewel-toned velvets, plaid blankets, and harness and riding cap motifs on printed silk ties.
Lauren's clothes immediately convey a certain lifestyle: quiet lunches in the mansion after a morning walk in a bracing cold, defended with beautiful military coats and short jackets; for fireside cocktails on New Year's Eve in a tuxedo jacket with a shawl collar and rope trim; après-ski lounge wear in a snowflake-print belted cashmere cardigan.
The American designer's showroom in Milan is almost as transporting as his Madison Avenue headquarters, with its elegant salons, extravagant flower arrangements and tuxedo-clad waiters carrying silver trays of champagne at 11 in the morning.
Following the trend with the season's sartorial juggernaut, Lauren and her design team created sleek velvet suits, gorgeous double-breasted tweed jackets, and serious pinstriped board chair suits, too. Some jackets required more than 20 hours of manual labor.
However, the refined and sophisticated versions of shirt jackets and field jackets, many with custom-made checks that were inspired by checkered horse blankets, were more unexpected and striking. Many looks, inspired by the Stockmans, had velvet loafers underneath, embroidered with jockeys, the New York Yankees logo and elegant embroidery of bullion shields, those intended for warm climates with palm trees.
This is clothing for the man who has it all, who demands the best, but also doesn't take himself too seriously.
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