One really has to marvel at the near-Olympian consistency of Mr. Ralph Lauren. Every season, Americaโs reigning โKing of Fashionโ manages to delight the senses of a (mostly jaded) international audience โ making us consider anew the rejuvenating power of dressing up in dramatic fashion.
For Spring 2023, Laurenโs latest ready-to-wear collection is still very much in that tenor, but unlike previous years, this season heโs clearly been drawn back to the rugged coastline and abundant orchards of yesteryear Southern California.
From big yeehaw energy to Okie tailoring ร la The Grapes Of Wrath, this collection offers a freewheeling examination of Californian style โ in all its laidback charms. Speaking euphemistically, if New York is where Ralph Laurenโs creative heart resides; then the West Coast โ California, specifically โ is where Americanโs most influential designer goes to dream.
That quality of waking reverie was really hammered home at the brandโs runway presentation last Friday: where models draped in Laurenโs imagined vision of the American West walked the length of the Huntington Library, presided over by a crew of venerable A-listers including Chris Pine, Robin Wright and everybodyโs favourite throwback celebrity couple, Bennifer.
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Against the backdrop of the Huntingtonโs pre-war facade (the building originally housed a botanical museum) Lauren returned to his erstwhile fixation with โa land of dreams and contradictionsโ, borne out by the precisely tuned mixture of high and low fashions that resounded throughout the collection.
As ever, gently sculpted tailoring in an array of seductive โ not to mention, wonderfully impractical โ textiles was a constant refrain, though this time โround, Lauren has softened these with an array of rustic accessories.
Hats, giant belt buckles, frontier neckwear and more than a few denim-on-denim ensembles all echoed the designerโs lifelong love affair with hardscrabble style; and as youโd expect of someone who has been exploring these niches for close to half a century, there was a confident, almost care-free quality to the styling.
As all Ralph shows invariably must, Spring 2023 closed with a handful of sporty looks lifted from the pages of the Polo catalogue. Here, the ghosts of Steinbeck and Golden Age Hollywood were less evident โ replaced by the cultural temperament that defines California in the 21st century. One through-line remained: clothing either at home in or evocative of Americaโs Great Western Expanse โ similarly beautiful, cheery and diverse in its many guises.
Explore all 103 looks โ including menโs and womenswear โ at the link below.
