In October, Ralph Lauren, the esteemed New York City-born designer, followed the post-pandemic path of so many Americans when he ditched the Big Apple for the sunnier climes of California. It was the first time Lauren had ever held a runway show on the West Coast, and he chose the Huntington Library of San Marino, around 25 kilometres north-east of Los Angeles, as his prominent backdrop.
The show itself was a confident and appealing vision of American history, a deeply patinated tribute to nineteenth-century western life. But, in a departure from his usual preference for showing only Purple Label, Lauren decided to mix things up by mingling in his Double RL and Polo collections too.
The result was forty-three looks taking in suede tailored sports coats, herringbone blazers, denim suits, pleated linen shorts, straight-legged jeans, Western buckled belts and cable-knit sweaters, with trainers, Stetsons and cowboy boots thrown in for good measure. For anyone else such a message might have been lost in the cacophony, but Lauren has a way of making even his California dreaming make sense.
“A mix of grit and glamour, energy and inspiration,” was how he summarised it all in his programme notes. For us, the looks were all eminently wearable and a fond reminder that, fifty-five years after he founded his fashion label in New York, the octogenarian icon's light still burns bright.
