Ralph Lauren, at 84, does nothing by half measures. For his spring 2025 show, he invited guests out to a 19-acre horse farm in Bridgehampton, an afternoon’s journey from New York City, parked his vintage cars near the stables, including a 1970s red Ferrari with Colorado plates, and had show horses jumping in a training ring, while Usher, Jude Law, Naomi Watts, Tom Hiddleston, Colman Domingo, and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden looked on.
If you were at Lauren’s 50th anniversary show in Central Park in 2018, this one had some of that flavor, with clothes from his eponymous collection, Purple Label, and Polo modeled by a multigenerational cast that ranged from Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell to adorable smiling kids taking their first tentative steps down a runway. In the years since that milestone show, the U.S. fashion industry has been rocked by the pandemic and its economic ripple effects. Lauren, our elder statesman, is a beacon in this challenging environment, his success a model for the generations of designers that have come up after him, and his clothes synonymous with all-American style the world over.
As befit the Hamptons setting, the clothes he sent out tonight tapped a beachy, breezy vein in his work. The de rigueur American flag sweater was paired with short-shorts made in white crochet, a texture he also liked for a long slinky dress with a plunging v-front. Point being, there was something for any and every East End occasion, whether calico and lace for a poolside barbecue, or a midnight blue slip dress for her and an ivory linen dinner jacket for him to wear at a black tie fundraiser. He also made room for some western suede and leather fringe—we were in horse country, after all.
Before the show, David Lauren walked editors around the vintage cars, pointing out how both the exteriors and interiors had been customized down to the tiniest details, according to his father’s exacting specifications. There’s a parallel there with the way Lauren finesses the styling of his shows. The clothes themselves are classics, just how he likes them; the real pleasure for him is in the mix: a humble white cotton tank with a jewel fringed long column skirt accessorized by a western belt; a marinière stripe, shirting stripe, and pinstripe ensemble; the tailcoat and holey jeans modeled by Turlington.
When it was all over, Lauren emerged for a bow in a Team USA Closing Ceremony jacket (you’ll recognize it from the Summer Games in Paris). Behind him was a temporary Polo Bar that had been erected over the course of five weeks, twice the size of the New York City original. Absolutely nothing by half measures.