“I loved the oldness, the craftsmanship, the utility that wove together an individuality of ease, eclectic mystique, and romantic sophistication.” Communicated via purple-inked text embossed into the cards left on our benches, this was Ralph Lauren’s explanation of why he was so drawn to “collegiate style and the gentleman athlete” when he began designing menswear way back when. For his second menswear show in six months (!), America’s most eminent menswear maestro returned to Milan to present two distinct but deeply connected collection cohorts: Purple Label, his equivalent of senior year, and Polo, for fresh men.
Purple Label came out first. Backstage, John Wrazej, Lauren’s senior brand creative director of men’s Polo, RLX, Purple Label, and children’s Polo, observed: “It’s always a conversation with Ralph. He doesn’t want to be slick, or too polished. He always wants to make sure that this guy is creative, and can find something that has utility and rusticity.” That produced a collection in which polish was often buffed by functional purpose. Silk-linen tweed tailoring was worn with fisherman sandals, and washed indigo satin jackets sat over tuxedo shirts. “Evening is on fire,” Wrazej said of the category while showing a look whose top half was based on emergency life jackets: great for social emergencies.
A Japanese-inflected, hakama-derived trouser introduced another cultural dimension to the season’s formal silhouette. One notable blue double-breasted evening jacket with black peak lapels carried the most intricate craft story. Its tonal sashiko hand-stitching was based on Art Deco motifs from Lauren’s own neckwear archive, reinterpreted in Japan by the Sashiko Gals. “They’re retired women that craft,” he said. “It’s all done by hand.” The fabric was made in Japan, then sewn into the finished garment in Italy. A white washed-linen boiler suit was embroidered with the crest of the Ralph Lauren Como Speed Club, a fictional society based on the team’s research into the Riva-racing daredevils, and their very fine attire, who tore across the water back in the 1920s. Sunglasses and watches were drawn from much closer to this brand’s spiritual home, featuring Western-style tooling details.
Polo was a delightful uprising of reference and genre. From frog-camo pants, field parkas, and fishing shirts to boater hats, rowing blazers, and Bengal-stripe rugby jerseys, a discipline for every gentleman athlete of style was represented on the runway. Madras was wonderfully used, in more traditional colorways and zingier combinations, across grip bags, climbing jackets, and a standout fishing jacket. The silhouette carried forward the bigger-bottomed “Hayworth” pant introduced for fall. “Everyone’s really responding to much bigger volume in the bottoms,” Wrazej said.
Shirting fabrics, including Bengals, ginghams, and tattersalls, were either reworked into gorgeous patched rugby tops or remixed into retro shirting shapes with neckerchiefs and detachable traditional collars. Patchwork rugby sweaters featured crossbones motifs and club graphics, while espadrilles were made with uppers of stitched-together ties, and opera pumps were cut in herringbone wool. Scarves featured cricketing scenes, a rare appearance of the sport in menswear beyond its much-appropriated jumper, and cravats were knotted and worn like ties. It was new-school old-school.
