Ralph Lauren’s Spring Summer 2023 show is a grand staging in the West Coast that celebrates Americana and the designer’s invaluable contributions to American fashion.
Westerners never age because their innate spirit of adventure keeps this form of a cinema classic. The same can be said for Ralph Lauren and his approach to fashion design. Even at the age of 83, the American designer’s runway still brims with a youthful excitement that confidently matures at its own pace beyond the fashion schedule.
His Spring Summer 2023 collection is no different; fresh and inventive in a manner undeniably borne out of American culture, this show was a grand expression of Americana par excellence at the brand’s first presentation in Southern California.
Rallying all the labels under the World of Ralph Lauren in a single staging, the tones and moods were various and colourful — just like California’s melting pot of a cultural scene. The show, housed in the magnificent Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, opened with Double RL’s heritage workwear pieces. Aged leather, cowboy boots, three-piece suits and acid-wash jeans made for a memorable prelude to Lauren’s repertoire, a good contrast to the more classic and craft-focused entourage of the Collection and Purple Label that came after.
Taking inspiration from the coastlines at sunset, the finer side of Ralph Lauren weaves understated elegance with sophisticated glamour, combining linen suits, equestrian details and Fair Isle knits with rich colourways of painterly prints. But the highlight of this wholesome night was the Polo Ralph Lauren section, which concluded with ‘mini-me’s dressed in the painfully adorable childrenswear line.
Lively, bold, sporty and charming, the already high saturation and high contrast garments were even more optimistic with the multigenerational casting. It felt like a homecoming of sorts, only made dreamier with the overhang of wanderlust.
This show is something only someone like Ralph Lauren is capable of making — it brings to life classics that thrive in the versatility of purity for eternity, just like how Westerns will always be a perfect fantasy, frozen in time.
“I have always been inspired by the natural beauty, the heritage, and glamour of the West Coast of America,” said Lauren in a press note. “California has always been a land of dreams and contradictions—rugged coasts and red carpets. For the first time ever, I bring my dream of living here, sharing my worlds in an experience that celebrates a way of life I have always believed in—a mix of grit and glamour, energy and inspiration.”
See here for the top 10 best looks of the Ralph Lauren Spring Summer 2023 show.
Look 2: This collage of navy blues almost brings to mind a sentiment of Japanese workwear — simple, durable and never boring.
Look 5: Jackets with patchworks like this are statement pieces meant to tide through eras without losing their original charm or relevance.
Look 9: The satin bomber transforms a rather formal get-up into something quite evening appropriate. Only it’s already more relaxed in fit and is made of linen — casual for the West where the wild is neighbours with the red carpet.
Look 12: There’s something about the way the polka-dotted scarf makes the classic linen suit and white shirt feel more irreverent.
Look 31: Huarache-inspired sandals and shorts are casual formal-wear candidates that are definitely welcome here.
Look 53: Again the polka dots, but in an electric blue. Very fresh.
Look 59: A classic black tie look donned by none other than the dashing Lucky Blue Smith.
Look 71: The cross-hatching effect of these multicoloured madras prints is a great look for someone who isn’t afraid to stand out.
Look 72: The jacket on the left. Love.
Look 84: This amalgamation of garments from different genres work unexpectedly well together.
Once you’re done with this story, click here to catch up with our October 2022 issue!
RELATED ARTICLES
