Oh to be a Ralph Lauren Purple Label man, looking like a million bucks, probably having a bank account with even more zeroes – and never breaking a sweat.
Standing on a dais in color-coordinated groups, some wearing hefty leather bombers or suede safari jackets, models braved 95-degree heat for the American designer’s Milan presentation on Friday, which solidified his reputation as a master of aspirational lifestyle branding.
It made you seriously consider a pair of white linen trousers to wear under a crested navy blazer, a roomy, open-weave navy sweater, or a trim navy shirt jacket. Rarely has the nautical look, here etched with restraint and undoubtedly the best fabrics on the market, looked so compelling.
Another clutch of models dressed in tan, brown and ivory shades exalted the looser fits Lauren – and others in Milan and at Pitti Uomo in Florence – is proposing this season, the shoulders on double-breasted jackets slightly extended, the peak lapels broadened, and the coordinating pants and shirts enlarged accordingly.
Unique textures came to the fore: luscious silk twill for trench coats and fisherman jackets; open-weave fabrics for patch-pocket sport coats, and more meaty linens for pleated trousers with a big cuff that hovered over espadrilles, squishy moccasins or fisherman sandals.
Here and there, Lauren mixed in garments with a lived-in look: a rugged black paratrooper jacket tossed over a pleated shirt, bow tie and fancy vest, or a purposely aged biker jacket paired with pristine linen. They reminded you of outfits Lauren himself wore in ads and portraits of yore, and blunted the preciousness that can sometimes make his idealized clothes seem unattainable.
He proposed some nifty alternatives to the tuxedo for more laid-back evenings, such as a roomy shirt and pants in black-and-white pinstripes.
The designer dedicated his collection to the “modern voyager.”
“Each piece tells a story of adventure and refinement,” he said in the collection notes. “This is a wardrobe where quality meets utility, where handmade fabrics blend seamlessly with practical purpose.”
And, it seems, where clothes make the man impervious to heat.