Instead of plunking one of his prize antique cars in the courtyard of his stately Milan headquarters, Ralph Lauren installed a sleek mahogany speedboat on Friday night.
It was a wink to a book the design team came across that documented a group of stylish Italian business magnates who would race their Revos on Lake Como in the ’20s — and the boating sensibility that seeped into the best parts of the spring Purple Label collection.
Meanwhile, there were winks to fishing, boating and Nantucket preppy in the zingy Polo Ralph Lauren collection, including one ensemble of an orange puffer and camouflage trousers based on something Lauren wore in Montauk a few decades ago.
This is the second time the American designer has staged a mega show in Milan for his main menswear brands, which this season shared an active, outdoor mood — and a penchant for melding the rugged and the refined.
“When I began designing menswear, my inspiration came from the ease and traditions of collegiate style and the gentleman athlete. It was about character and camaraderie, a timeless style they made their own,” Lauren said in the show notes placed on each seat of his intimate, courtyard show. “I loved the oldness, the craftsmanship, the utility that wove together an individuality of ease, eclectic mystique, and a romantic sophistication.
“My approach has always been cinematic, creating visual stories, and aspirational worlds. Each a tribute to the personality of the man who lives to push creativity, competition, and expressions of personal style to the limit,” he added.
No doubt emboldened by the positive reception to the vibrant, collegiate regalia he paraded last January for fall 2026, Lauren and his design team leaned into that “next-gen” attitude — and heightened the Ivy League sensibility with morning coats and boater hats.
“It’s not about an age demographic, but obviously there’s a sensibility that feels younger, sportier and more utility,” John Wrazej, senior brand creative director of men’s Polo, RLX, Purple Label and children’s Polo, told WWD during a preview.
Bolder too, with madras windbreakers in searing shades, chinos colored Nantucket red, and collegiate banners patchworked onto rugby shirts, cricket jackets and weekend bags.
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Dunhill’s Simon Holloway reprised Lucian Freud’s artfully tied scarves earlier in the day, and Lauren went to town with floppy, scarf-like ties; velvet bows with a Western twang, and demonstrative, whorled cravats in shirting fabrics. They added a fun, romantic touch. Silk necktie fabrics also turned up on patchworked clothes, bags and dress pumps.
Shirts were also a focus at Polo, but unexpected ones — like a wingtip done in chambray, or a rugby shirt done up in a patchwork of patterned broadcloth.
The Purple Label collection felt a tad more freewheeling this season, with some slimmer tailoring silhouettes mixed in, flashes of Old Hollywood glamour in high-waisted silk-and-linen trousers, and loads of lived-in-looking, utilitarian-minded outerwear.
A limited-edition capsule in collaboration with Japanese design house Kuon exalted the “boro” technique of mending or patching, but on very Lauren garments, such as a shawl-collar dinner jacket.
The evening show had a buzzy atmosphere as Tom Hiddleston, Colman Domingo, Maluma and Henry Golding mingled with David and Andrew Lauren ahead of the show. Outside, a small crowd let out a cheer at the arrival of Lewis Hamilton, fresh off his historic first victory for Ferrari in the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
He wore a tan linen shirt and pants — a perfect outfit for taking the wheel of a sleek mahogany speedboat.
