Ralph Lauren’s intimate New York show invited the A-list into his studio

By Nick Remsen, CNN

(CNN) — In recent years and with the rise of social media, fashion shows have become somewhat synonymous with broad spectacle. Just take a look at any of the major European labels’ catwalk showcases, with elaborate, expensive sets, custom-built tents that can accommodate hundreds of guests, and thousands of fans screaming outside for the inevitable celebrity arrivals.

Ralph Lauren wanted exactly none of that for his Fall/Holiday 2024 runway presentation last night in New York City.

The designer instead looked inward to host something a bit more private, but no less impactful: he invited less than 100 guests to his design studio, nine floors above Madison Avenue. There, the audience — which, yes, did include A-listers like Kerry Washington, Jessica Chastain, Morgan Spector and “Hacks” star Hannah Einbinder; even low-key shows need celebrity wattage, after all — lounged on leather Mies van der Rohe-inspired chairs as the lights brightened and the proceedings began.

The salon-style show — constructed to recall a very similar runway the designer held for his first womenswear show in 1972, also in his then studio — struck a calm yet galvanizing chord.

“I wanted something more intimate,” Lauren, 84, told CNN afterwards during dinner at The Polo Bar, the buzzy Manhattan restaurant his company launched in 2015. (He was about to dig into one of the eatery’s famed “Polo burgers.”) “And I always do what I believe, what feels right.”

Supermodel Christy Turlington walked first. She wore a cashmere coat, broken-in trousers and booties all rendered in a pale taupe hue. It set the tone for a color scheme of rich neutrals, which dominated throughout. In fact, unlike Lauren’s Spring-Summer 2024 show, in which Washington was outfitted, the collection featured zero bright colors — a palette cleanser, rather, by way of lush gray-browns and silvers and faded browns.

A number of looks featured western motifs, from cowboy hats to a bandana tie to aged leather jackets. The theme is on trend – in large part due to Beyoncé and her most recent album, “Cowboy Carter” – yet Lauren has long worked western aesthetics into his brand and its ever-aspirational world-building. (Among many other touchpoints of Americana, that is, including the other big talking point of the moment: tennis.)

In a way that few can do — and in a way that Lauren has mastered, and remastered, over the years — there was also razzle-dazzle woven alongside the neutrality of the collection. A number of dresses were all-over sequined or sparkled, adding a layer of tasteful, luxe glamor. Model Anok Yai’s closing look hit all of the show’s talking points in one: a shimmering silk dress in golden taupe, topped with a cowboy hat. At the afterparty, she wore the same look, accessorizing it further with chunky metal cross necklaces.

In Lauren’s words, the collection’s understated colors and its luxe coziness — even with its pops of glitz — were “non-frou frou.”

“I wanted it simple,” he explained.

At The Polo Bar, where martinis flowed and the dinner went late, Glenn Close was sat to Lauren’s left. She wore a champagne-hued Ralph Lauren jacket; he was in a cowboy shirt with black and turquoise insets. In the glow of the restaurant’s rich wood paneling and golden overhead light, the scene felt briefly like a flashback (I looked around and didn’t see anybody on their phones, except for me, recording my chat with the designer.) It could have been decades ago. And that’s the point.

When asked what resonates most with Lauren these days, he said, with the wisdom of over fifty years in business to his name: “timelessness.”

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