We were at Ralph Lauren’s headquarters at 650 Madison Avenue tonight for his show. A few hours before showtime, a press release arrived: the designer’s first womenswear show – in 1972! – was also held in his office. In the 52 years between that first moment and this moment, much has changed, as evidenced by the black and white photos found on Getty Images.
In those early photos, it was all editors and industry people in the small crowd: lensman Bill Cunningham, who was not yet at the New York Times, staked out a spot on the floor. Tonight, Glenn Close, Jessica Chastain and Kerry Washington slid through the doors, among many other celebrities. Even then, nothing: a post-show dinner at the Polo Bar, with models in the checked pantsuits and long, bias-cut briefs they wore on the catwalk.
What has remained uniquely consistent over the decades, of course, is Lauren’s aesthetic. “The woman I design for has a beauty that comes from an inner confidence,” he noted in his press release. “My collection is inspired by that woman, her sense of timelessness, her individuality – a style that is forever.” The show’s opening song, Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are,” seemed chosen to draw attention to that steadfastness, as did first model Christy Turlington, who told a story backstage about meeting Lauren in an elevator when she started her career in the fashion world. the eighties.
Turlington wore neat tailoring, a tie tucked into the waistband of her trousers, with a leather tote bag RL 888 in the same shade of pale gray as her clothes. Ties and power suits were recurring sights on the fall runways, as if it were happening; for Lauren, they are not seasonal effects, but rather pieces he has returned to over the years, sharpening and refining them the way an artist learns his lines.
He has always had a feeling for cinema; a klieg lamp in a corner of the showroom reminded us of that, as did a leather horse wrestler’s jacket and suede pants, worn with a neckerchief and a 10-gallon hat that could have come straight from the set. Horizon, the upcoming Kevin Costner film. Lauren himself wore a colorful western shirt and beloved jeans to take his bow and enjoyed his standing ovation.
Urban sophistication and red carpet drama are also essential parts of his repertoire. These were represented by a chunky cardigan and cocktail dress combo, the pinstripe jacket he threw over a silk charmeuse shirt and a long skirt in gunmetal gray, and the beaded body-skimming dresses that closed the show with sparkles of diamond clear light.
