This time last week Ralph Lauren was being honored at the CFDA Awards for his impact on the landscape of American fashion. The likes of Vera Wang, Tommy Hilfiger, and CFDA chair Diane von Furstenberg paid tribute to the legendary designer, who rose to the stage dressed in a look that spoke directly to his American sportswear legacy: tuxedo jacket and bow-tie on top; weather-worn denim jeans and techy sneakers on the bottom.
Lauren was a pioneer for the kind of lifestyle branding that is commonplace today. Indeed, his distinctive tastes still shape his business at every level. There were some very personal Laurenisms in Pre-Spring, starting with the fisherman’s sandals and espadrilles (he’s known to wear his with suits) that grounded many of the looks. The counterintuitive styling—think, a cashmere hoodie paired with a tulle skirt and cargo pants with a sequin tee—echoed his own unorthodox approach to red carpet dressing, too. Lauren is fond of a monochromatic aesthetic and continued the blue mood he started with Pre-Fall, adding an icy tone to the navy palette. One of the strongest looks in the lineup was a baby blue double-breasted suit—shades of Annie Hall in the silhouette, if not the color—an update on one that originally appeared in a campaign back in the late 1980s. On the flip side of that mannish silhouette was some new curvilinear tailoring, including a form-fitting cropped jacket called “the Princess” that was very Kate Middleton.
Lauren is reimagining his Icon capsule this season, which essentially consists of all the brand’s most recognizable tropes—in other words, many of the pieces he adapted for his own wardrobe first: aviator shearlings, army jackets, et cetera. Among the classics he has updated is a blazer dress with gold buttons and a peacoat that has been tweaked with a cropped cut. The word timeless is often misused in fashion. The fact is that even the so-called “classics” need a subtle reboot to feel modern, and Lauren understands that.
