Following Ralph Lauren’s striking New York Fashion Week fall collection runway show, which bridged the conceptual, commercial and red carpet through rich, layered and luxe looks, the brand returned to Paris to showcase its latest Polo designs.
Held at a contemporary, open gallery space in the Marais on Thursday, the presentation included three different viewings of choreographed models, which underscored the importance of movement throughout the fall collection. With its mix of heritage and modernity, Polo — both men’s and women’s — continues to lead the pack, and did so for fall through layered-up, Western-tinged looks that encourage the wearer to play with their personal style.
“I think what really sets women’s Polo apart within our organization, and I think globally, is it’s all about her vibe, and it’s about how she’s putting things together,” Karen Brown Brody, senior brand creative director for Women’s Polo, told WWD during a preview.
“What I really love about Polo is that the pieces themselves won’t overpower the woman. It’s how she’s putting them together in her own way and experimenting with that. I would say she’s quite confident in pushing her boundaries and trying things just for the sake of dressing for herself,” she added.
This ethos came to life with fall’s distinct ’70s experimental, Western Americana influence, inspired by images of Ralph Lauren, who leads all design direction for the full brand portfolio and works in partnership with Brown Brody, and wife Ricky during the era.
The collection had all of the hallmarks of sophisticated yet energized American sportswear — a plaid flannel shirt with a chocolate tuxedo coat; iconic polos turned into lofty sweaters; exciting black and cream jeans with bullion-inspired embroideries and A-line dresses, one with a cute Henley collar. It was this distinct blend that proved successful in evoking the Polo Ralph Lauren juxtapositions of the high and low, rustic and refined through excellent styling.
Accessories proved key to this idea, as seen through wide Western buckled belts that topped an array of the collection’s elevated, tonal dressing spanning from slim tailoring to great soft corduroy trousers with classic cable knit crewnecks. Ditto to Western-detailed boots, colorful leather gloves and great silk scarves, wrapped like cummerbunds around the waist of crisp tuxedo shirts and trousers.
Outerwear, too, was a big focus for fall, and ranged from slim ’70s tailored toggle coats and rustic distressed leather jackets to a striking sheepskin suede fringe jacket with hand beadwork, from the Polo Ralph Lauren x Tópa collaboration in partnership with Oceti Sakowin designers Jocy and Trae Little Sky as a part of the company’s Artist in Residence Program.
Following the success of the Polo Play and Polo ID, the company also introduced its new key handbag family: The Polo Blaze. Brown Brody explained the bag was inspired by one of Ralph Lauren’s handbags from the ’80s and named after the white markings on horses’ faces.
“You’ll see the lines of the stitching are very reminiscent of a saddle, but the leathers are a bit more downtown city, so a little bit of shine and they’re more moto in feel. It’s this hybrid, which is actually a lot of what the collection is, of these heritage cues but in a very city way,” she explained of the three top-handle, small-shoulder and large-shoulder silhouettes.