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Ralph Lauren, 86, staged the unofficial opening show of New York’s fashion season, a Spring/Summer 2027 collection built as a tribute to his wife of more than 60 years, Ricky Lauren. She sat front row alongside stars including Cynthia Erivo, Viola Davis, and Rachel Brosnahan as her husband led guests through a romantic escape inside a marble Manhattan hall. The presentation blended sensual silhouettes with six decades of devotion.
Ricky Lauren, the Muse Behind Every Collection
Ricky Lauren has been present in her husband’s work for decades, a lifelong muse woven into every collection he designs. David Lauren, the label’s chief branding and innovation officer, said this year’s line reads like the designer “writing through his clothes about a very kind of modern dream.” Other members of the Lauren family sat beside her, a reminder of how personal the show still is for the 86-year-old designer.
A Marble Hall Built for Romance
Lauren transformed a soaring marble venue into the setting, its walls draped in tapestry and a gilded, coffered ceiling overhead, with lower Manhattan visible through the windows. Attendees were seated on ivory-toned benches as models entered through a pair of white doors at the front. The look was a departure from his fall show, which had leaned on richly patterned rugs and antique furniture rather than this stripped-down palette.
Navy, White and Love Songs Set the Scene
The collection unfolded in navy and white as models walked to a soundtrack of love songs, including The Police’s “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.” Lauren himself called the line an “irreverent take on romance” that “upends traditional notions of chic,” a mission statement for everything that moved down the runway that afternoon. The mood was deliberate, built to feel intimate rather than staged for spectacle alone.
From a White Corset to Deep, Rich Blues
The show began with a corseted white top paired with white tailored trousers, a crisp opening before a wave of deep blues took over the runway. As the collection progressed, Lauren sent out voluminous white pinstriped trousers and long, sweeping coats that reached the floor. The tailoring stayed sharp throughout, even as the shapes grew softer and increasingly romantic on the runway.
Brooches, Feathers and a Touch of Fringe
Accessories did much of the romantic work in this collection, from large flower-shaped brooches to cropped, feather-trimmed jackets layered over gowns cut with deep necklines, and fringe-trimmed scarves knotted around the middle. Footwear varied by look, with heels on some models and flat, slipper-inspired shoes on others. The finishing touches let each outfit shift from a relaxed daytime mood to something ready for a formal night out.
Pantsuits, Fringe and a Nod to the Past
Lauren also played with gender codes, pairing a gown finished in gold fringe with tailored navy trousers and sending two pantsuits down the runway, echoing the first suit he ever designed for a woman. Elsewhere, the show leaned younger, matching cropped, fitted jackets with relaxed, low-hanging trousers and worn-in denim for a more casual mood. Romance and rebellion, it seemed, could share a single runway.
Stars Say They Grow Alongside Ralph Lauren
Actor Ella Hunt said after the show, “Ralph just generally designs so beautifully for a woman’s body.” Ariana DeBose added, “What I love about coming to a Ralph Lauren show and wearing Ralph Lauren is that no matter where I am in time or space, or as I’m growing and changing in my styles and preferences and tastes change, I can grow with Ralph.”
An $8.1 Billion Empire Built on a Personal Story
The devotion extends beyond the runway. According to the Guardian, Lauren’s birth name was Ralph Lifshitz, and his parents left Belarus as Jewish immigrants before he built an empire around an invented, glamorous America of Gatsby-style elegance, cowboy ranches and country-club polish. The paper reported record revenue of $8.1 billion this year, up 15%, as Gen Z rediscovers polo shirts and baseball caps. He was named a nominee for American menswear designer of the year.
The Show Ended the Way It Began, With a Kiss
Lauren’s show landed just before New York’s runways get busier and more assured than they have been in recent years, with designers such as Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors readying their own presentations around the city. Still, this particular finale was about family. When the applause started, Ralph reappeared in his aviator glasses and varsity jacket, and Ricky met him there with a kiss.