Ralph Lauren’s
Relaxed Restraint
Anders Christian Madsen reviews the Ralph Lauren Spring/Summer 2026 show.
On the morning of the Ralph Lauren show, his flagship stores on Madison Avenue were bustling. Amid a much-covered turndown in the global luxury market, the 85-year-old designer is experiencing a business boom with shares up by 25 percent this year alone, according to the Financial Times. He did look pretty chuffed as he took his bow on Wednesday evening after an intimate show at his headquarters, with the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Jessica Chastain in attendance.
It would be easy to rationalize Lauren’s upsurge with the quiet luxury wave that hit us with understated might over the last few years, but the answer is probably more to be found in its aftermath. As he illustrated on his pared-back runway on the first evening of New York Fashion Week, what makes Ralph Lauren desirable right now is an intrinsically codified look. Rather than being quiet, it has a sense of ease to it: inherent luxury, you might say; clothes that make you look like you were born this way.
On social media, the kids call that #oldmoneystyle. They usually get what that means wrong, but Lauren (who wasn’t born that way) gets it right. Take for instance the show’s knitted white cricket vest worn over a stripy shirt with a tie and a wide-brimmed sun hat, codes so entrenched in his Ivy League Americana that any generation could decipher their well-heeled meaning. Or, on a more practical note, the collection’s devotion to white tailoring – casual but considered in cut – which signals a stain-free, pristine lifestyle. Just ask Geri Horner.
On social media, the kids call that #oldmoneystyle. They usually get what that means wrong, but Lauren (who wasn’t born that way) gets it right.
Those codes are amplified in Lauren’s eternally-desirably Polo line, which likely has much to do with the annus mirabilis he’s experiencing. Rugby shirts, stripy ties, cardigans and all the sartorial trappings embodied by that line represent a candy shop for a new generation of dandy shoppers, who want to dress for success. The high-fashion version of that tendency was demonstrated in former Polo designer Michael Rider’s debut show for Celine in July.
While the premium line Lauren put on his runway this week is more discreet and refined than his Polo proposal – the show notes described the season’s look as “relaxed restraint” – it exudes the same sense of familiarity and aspiration. Conveyed with ease, it’s an instinctive expression of class that appeals to both young and old consumers right now. This probably has less to do with privilege and more to do with classy behavior. In times of upheaval, we hanker for the politeness and dignity characterized by the Ralph Lauren look.
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