“Is Ralph just attractive to frat boys?” Nowadays it is difficult to invent completely new sentences. But not at Ralph Lauren’s spring 2027 walk in Milan on Friday night. After the show, as guests lined up straight for the beautiful people carrying trays of champagne, the fashion vernacular I heard pushed some new boundaries. The situation became strange. “Lord, I need a cravat,” someone said over the lip of a Negroni. (Okay, maybe that wasn’t all He New.)
Still, innovation seemed to be an agenda item for Lauren. On a foggy Italian evening, in front of a front row adorned with stars like Lewis Hamilton and Colman Domingo, the 86-year-old designer presented a collection full of twists on the classics: a dinner jacket made entirely of boro- and sashiko-style patch denim. Wearing a bibbed dress shirt and waistcoat under a leather moto jacket, the model looks with some added swag. A field jacket cut from woven raffia. A silk bomber jacket underneath adds to the fun of the three-piece suit.
Anyone who was a fan of last season’s psychedelic college-boy look is in luck. After 37 looks of timeless, beautiful Americana — all complimented by Ralph’s upper-crust Purple Label collection — some thought the show was over. Kit Butler was wearing a white tuxedo jacket, the soundtrack was becoming ambient and cinematic. Hands raised to clap. But then the music started (Michael Kiwanuka’s “Cold Little Heart” moved into Son Little’s “The River”), heads started bouncing and out came the Polo Boys. Cargo shorts, camo pants, technicolor jumpers, and sloppy hats. Madras rain jackets turned heads while beaded necklaces spilled from sweaters. Something was written on the shorts with a pen and paint was sprinkled. These were college class clowns who could certainly wear clothes, but probably couldn’t be counted on to sit like pets.
It was a large collection – 78 fits in total – and it’s worth exploring in much more depth. But in the meantime, here are excerpts from your first look from Ralph Lauren Spring 2027.
Traditional men’s clothing is still difficult
The trial will never end. We can trust this. But there are some elements of old-school tailoring that no longer get the love they did in the 1920s. Horseshoe waistcoats, which flare richly to the navel with thin short lapels, are a relic. Decades ago the ruffled bib shirt was eclipsed by the plain-front dress shirt. Details like pocket chains and cravats and carrying a pair of gloves in your hands (just ’cause!) are rarely seen anymore. But Ralph is bringing them back. Amidst the wildness of nice suits and college boys, OG menswear made its comeback. Perhaps it’s a sign of leaning back into the harsh, powerhouses that created us. Perhaps this is a sign to give our great-grandfathers the flowers they deserve. Anyhow, you should buy a cummerbund and a waistcoat and make it look attractive.
