Once upon a time, April was the month when New York designers showed off their upcoming fall collections. Like many things in fashion, this was when runway shows were held for professionals whose job depended on seeing it, and Bryant Park hosted the first truly organized New York Fashion Weeks.
Ralph Lauren, which has mostly avoided the official NYFW calendar lately, presented its Fall Holiday 2024 collection before a carefully edited group of said professionals for a show at the brand's headquarters at 650 Madison Avenue that cemented the classic yet innovative aesthetic of the designers by revisiting nostalgia on many fronts but with a new twist.
According to a statement from the brand, the designer recalled “his first women's show in 1972 when he presented his collection to a small group of editors and friends in your living room-style office.”
The intention was to allow a rare glimpse into Lauren's creative world with the runway arranged to resemble her own office with sleek chrome accents, modern cantilever chairs, personal artwork, mahogany accents and a warm lighting scheme atypical in the Current large format spectacle created by suspended pendants. and giving it a romantic atmosphere. As the guests left, they noticed a large signature plate of M&M's on display.
“The woman I design for has a beauty that comes from an inner confidence. She dresses for herself. Her style is personal and daring. She pairs a handmade jacket over a glamorous evening dress. She believes in quiet sophistication, not defined by time or trends My Fall/Holiday 2024 collection is inspired by that woman, her sense of reality. its timelessness, its individuality, a style that is forever,” said Ralph Lauren, creative director of Ralph Lauren Corporation.
As guests including Jessica Chastain, Glenn Close, Jodie Turner-Smith and Kerry Washington settled into their seats, the show began with Billy Joel's 'Just the Way You Are' featuring gorgeous 90s supermodel Christy Turlington in a taupe coat with pants. a shirt and the infamous Ralph Lauren tie, the garment with which he launched his business in 1967. The neutral tonal vibe was present throughout, and no one, not even Benjamin Moore with his paint sample cards, can degrade a color palette like Ralph.
Lauren couldn't have picked a better time to reiterate her designer reputation for making Western clothing stylish and sophisticated. Generation Z began discovering cowboy boots around 2021, and last year, 'Barbie' championed Western-inspired looks, albeit in hot pink; This year, Beyoncè caused the right kind of buzz by debuting her first country album, complete with the accompanying style tropes.
In this show, Ralph married his beloved ranch lifestyle with the sophisticated elegance of the city and added a dose of uniform elegance (perhaps he had embraced the recent 'Masters of the air World War II series starring Austin Butler, who did as much for the bomber jacket as Tom Cruise in 'Top Gun').
Namely, a fringed sparkly sequin dress with an oversized Mojave sweater, a skintight spaghetti strap dress worn with a cowboy hat, fringed black suede pants, and a silver Navajo belt worn with a black and white tie and a thin Paletot coat. A tan shearling flight jacket over a gray suit was both an ode to the flight and a great way to wear this style of outerwear in a business context.
This season there was a strong emphasis on craftsmanship; several pieces, such as leather and suede vests, featured woven sections and fringes sandwiching the leather; an intricately beaded evening top and a jacket with laser-cut fringes, for example. The designer offered plenty of sass to his younger clients: cropped sweaters with tight leather skirts or bias-cut satin skirts; another was a gray wool flannel coat shaped like a dress above the knee with a cinched waist. His argument for wearing head-to-toe suede was also strong and attractive.
Joel's biggest hit song from 1977 made the vibe seem brave for the designer who has stuck to his vision and aesthetic for over 57 years; he “won't go get changed to try to please you.” He also played on the industry's sentiment of longing for an isolated fashion world where shows were just another day at the office, in this case, Ralph Lauren's office, with incredibly luxurious and elegant clothes.
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