With a tableau of Purple Label spring ensembles lined up at his grand Milan palazzo, Ralph Lauren transported guests to the French Riviera as vividly as if the models were standing on a polished sailing yacht in Cannes, and a coastal breeze rippled their perfectly combed hair.
With their Cary Grant postures, nipped-waisted jackets, linen trousers and crested loafers, they looked handsome and rich in that Old Hollywood way, self-aware, and impeccably turned out, right down to the perfect pocket square.
Lauren found plenty of new things to say with blues and whites – an unexpected color combo for a silk Glen plaid dinner jacket, or as a botanical print for fancy, pajama-like trousers.
There were a wealth of looks for evening, one of the fastest-growing categories at Purple Label, and here the designer took a freewheeling, nearly playful approach. Why not a navy linen safari suit elevated by a fancy white silk waistcoat?
According to the brand, Lauren’s instincts invariably sync up with the most vibrant segments of his men’s business: sporty and casual being two others. Hence a wealth of après-tennis looks, or a crested blazer in navy terrycloth for chaise-lounge enthusiasts.
Meanwhile, linen brought a casual elan to a host of tailored looks, including feather-weight shirting linens carved into terrific single-breasted, notch-lapel jackets and tapered trousers, and a safari jacket-and-shorts combo in a beefier linen fabric. Things got as casual as a flannel shirt in a bold plaid, but in a luxurious cotton worlds away from the grunge music scene.
Lauren’s vivid coastal mood extended to the footwear, which included leather versions of fisherman sandals, a sleeper hit at the American brand.
In his collection notes, the designer described getting dressed as an adventure.
“It’s dressing for the day and the moment, for a match on the tennis courts, for a glamorous evening,” he said, explaining that his spring effort was “inspired by that kind of living— celebrating a personal style that is effortless and timeless, a quiet sophistication that is confident and always authentic.”
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