Skip to main content
BoF Logo

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

What's Red, White and Ralph all over?

Ralph Lauren’s simple, stylish statement for Spring evoked points south of Paris, rather than points east of Manhattan.
Ralph Lauren Spring/Summer 2016 | Source: Indigital
By
  • Tim Blanks

NEW YORK, United States — As Ralph Lauren took his bow, Frank Sinatra crooned, "I love Paris in the springtime". Couple that with the chanteuse cooing in French on the show soundtrack, and it was easy to imagine that the heavenly yacht club Lauren was evoking with his new collection was points south of Paris — rather than points east of Manhattan. Red, white and blue is, after all, as French as it is American. And living well on the Riviera was the best revenge for Gerald and Sara Murphy and their dear friends the Fitzgeralds.

Geography aside, Lauren's clothes embodied a luxuriant physicality. Emphasis on body: racer backs, bared shoulders and midriffs, short shorts, second-skin knits and skirts slit high threw a spotlight on toned limbs and torsos. So did swoops of bias-cutting which, when scissored into eveningwear out of the lightest, freshest blue and white striped cotton, offered an unfeasibly easy full-on dress-up option. You could jump off a boat in a dress like that and not feel wretched in the morning.

And let’s talk about those reds, those whites and those blues. Vermilion and luminous cobalt played off spectacularly against blinding white. Add trad-stripes and you had a consummately simple, stylish statement. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop there. A yacht sail graphic abstracted into a primary-coloured mosaic looked effortful in this context. And a passage of pieces in butterscotch leather was delicious to think about, but it felt like a weight where there had been none before.

© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from Fashion Week
Independent show reviews from fashion’s top critics.

What I Learned From Fashion Month

From where aspirational customers are spending to Kering’s challenges and Richemont’s fashion revival, BoF’s editor-in-chief shares key takeaways from conversations with industry insiders in London, Milan and Paris.


view more

Subscribe to the BoF Daily Digest

The essential daily round-up of fashion news, analysis, and breaking news alerts.

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON
BoF Professional - How to Turn Data Into Meaningful Customer Connections
© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Accessibility Statement.
BoF Professional - How to Turn Data Into Meaningful Customer Connections