Ralph Lauren names “a style that is forever” as the basis of his Fall/Holiday 2024 collection. That’s only fitting: timelessness is Lauren’s forte, and that has only become apparent as the years have gone by. The American designer has created a consistent—and now recognisable—aesthetic by staying faithful to his personal inspirations; that includes Old Hollywood glamour, Americana, and the innate style of his wife, Ricky.
Lauren does not have to stray too far from what feels familiar to him. In fact, his Fall/Holiday 2024 presentation in New York bears similarities to the very first women’s runway show that he held in 1972. Both shows took place in Lauren’s design studio. Both shows were intimate affairs, with only a handful of guests present (friends, fashion editors). Sure, there were celebrities present this time around—on the front row were Jessica Chastain, Kerry Washington, Glenn Close and GRAZIA Singapore cover star Krystal Jung—but the guestlist had already been whittled down to fewer than 100 names.
It was nothing like Lauren’s Spring/Summer 2024 presentation, which was staged in a spacious, chandelier-lined barn crowded with celebrities. This time, Lauren opted for subtlety over spectacle. Instead of the exuberant colours that were seen in his previous collection, the 85-year-old designer drew upon neutral hues—beiges, browns, greys—made seductive through the use of glimmering fabrications. Sweeping satin skirts, bias-cut gowns in silk, and sequin evening dresses were all shown on the runway—but with Lauren’s signature twist.
The American designer layered slouchy knitwear with a homespun quality over those liquid-smooth silks. More clashes of dress codes abound: sombre suit jackets, straight out of the wardrobes of the leading men that Lauren idolised as a teenager, were worn over flashy satin shirts, or in one case, a blouse that is dramatically embellished with glass beads, bugles and sequins. The blouse is embroidered with the traditional Aari technique from India, which is also used on a silver fringed cocktail dress that came down the runway. The flapper-style dress was paired, anachronistically, with a cashmere-blend cardigan featuring the kind of geometric motifs that adorn traditional Navajo textiles—one of Lauren’s most enduring sources of inspirations.
Another one is the iconic image of the cowboy, as cemented by the likes of John Wayne and Gary Cooper in the Western films that Lauren watched as a child. Several looks were cinched with wide, metal buckle belts, or topped with a classic cowboy hat. While Lauren liberally used bright blue denim in his Spring/Summer 2024 collection, he stuck to suede in deep brown and black for fall, crafting fringed pants, dresses and an entire suit and tie in the fabric.
Suede was also seen on the bags, including the new RL 888 Tote, a slouchy style with a spacious interior, and the celebrity-favourite RL 888 Box bag. This season, bags from the RL 888 line are also reinterpreted with exotic skins like alligator leather, or glammed up with glitzy crystals. One mini crossbody bag, gilded with Western-inspired motifs in golden leather, exemplified Lauren’s appreciation for artistry.
That all of these pieces—varying wildly in their inspirations and the occasions that they are made for—can be offered in a single, cohesive collection is testament to Lauren’s skill for creating balance out of unlikely, disparate elements. The designer, who happens to be a Libra, was years ahead of his peers in seeing that women would eventually break free from dress codes, and instead mix and match the pieces in their wardrobe.
“The woman I design for has a beauty that comes from an inner confidence,” says Lauren in a statement. “She dresses for herself. Her style is personal and bold. She’ll throw a hand-tailored jacket over a glamorous evening dress. She believes in quiet sophistication not defined by time or trends. My Fall/ Holiday 2024 Collection is inspired by that woman, her sense of timelessness, her individuality—a style that is forever.”
In that sense, the Ralph Lauren look is forever, too.
This story first appeared in the December/January issue of GRAZIA Singapore.
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