If there's one takeaway from Ralph Lauren's Pre-Fall/Fall/holiday spectacular, it was the eveningwear boilersuit—a genius and chic fusion of opposing values. And so it was with America's godfather of menswear. Walking the halls of his Madison Avenue office/showrooms—retrofitted to feel more like the interior of an elegant mansion—one was constantly confronted by juxtapositions: luxury and sport, tailored and disheveled, heritage and modern. A croc leather café racer dared any motorcyclist brave (and wealthy) enough to wear it on the highway. A three-piece suit in rich black glove leather, perhaps for that same motorcyclist's wedding, was equally decadent. Purple Label tailoring was immaculately timeless—the uniform of a Wall Street power broker (if there are any still around willing to own the title) or a turn-of-the-century gangster. A hooded suede tracksuit, cashmere lined, could have been a strong alternative to Kanye's Grammys-performance velour. Polo Sport made its return. Mixed in with the super-tech, luxury-sport hybrid RLX line, the team sports-inspired kits looked authentic enough for Lauren's most jockish patrons. Polo, now a coed consideration, did what it does best: conjured youth, sex, and money like no other brand. A denim trucker was overprinted with camo; double-breasted overcoats in navy and herringbone were equally fitting over jeans or a suit. The classic oxford shirt was reimagined in Polo's famous piqué cotton. The girls and boys lounged together in their complementary rugged outdoors-meets-urban sophisticate ensembles—a Bruce Weber shoot come to life.
