Ralph Lauren to return to NYC runway season in September

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Jul 11, 2023

Ralph Lauren is to return to New York Fashion Week with a runway show in September, following a break of four years from the city’s official catwalk season.

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The iconic American designer will stage a runway event on Friday, September 8, in an as yet undisclosed location. His decision will be major shot in the arm for New York Fashion Week, which has seen such prominent designers as Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger and Tom Ford show frequently outside of New York or in foreign locations in the past few years. Even Thom Browne, the president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), US fashion’s governing body, showed in Paris last week, albeit in the haute couture season.
 
The decision confirmed by a spokesperson for Ralph Lauren comes amid a strong renaissance in the brand. In May, Ralph Lauren shares rose 8% in trading after the house reported unexpectedly strong fourth quarter earnings. The company forecast fiscal 2024 revenue to increase in the low-single digit range, on a constant currency basis. Analysts are expecting a 5.6% rise to $6.73 billion.

Ralph’s most recent show on the official New York schedule dates back to September 7, 2019, when he created Ralph’s Club, a Jazz Era club at 48 Wall Street. Dressed in an impeccable white tuxedo, Ralph greeted guests in his one-night-only supper club, where models paraded before the bar, guests wore tuxedos and Janelle Monáe, sang classic torch songs standing on tables.
 
Since then, Lauren has hosted a gala show in a botanical garden in Los Angeles in October 2022, attended by a gang of bold face names like Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, Diane Keaton and Laura Dern.
 
Last Lauren also staged an off-calendar show in New York in March 2022 inside the Museum of Modern Art in a homage to Jazz Age.
 
In June, the house of Lauren also returned to the Milan menswear season, after a four-year absence, presenting a Purple Label collection entitled “Dolce Vita,” shown inside the Ralph Lauren Palace.