It was the final day of NY Fashion Week 15SS, for which I sprinted all over Manhattan for over thirty brands in a week, and I closed off with Ralph Lauren. Washington Street was overflowing with enthusiasm from fashion editors and fashion victims.
Ralph Lauren has “safari” as the 2015 Spring/Summer collection theme. The final look of the satin safari top and military taffeta ballgown was quintessential Ralph.
Gurkha pants, Rajah pink, etc., were on the runway show on top of Ralph Lauren’s signature cargo, jodhpur, safari, and khaki items. Ralph had some inspiration from his recent Indian escapade.
The essence of the show was announced by the line of chandeliers wrapped in chiffon to dull the sparkle. As Suzy Menkes pointed out, everything was luxurious but subtle in vivid, not violent, colors.
“Ralph Lauren” is a WASP style fashion created by the Jewish designer, which has to do with the rise and fall of WASP people. Polo Grounds at 155 St. and Yankee Stadium nearby are the remnants of the WASP settlement in the Bronx. WASP had prosperity in many fields, including Wall Street, and the Jews replaced the market after the Great Depression.
The Great Gatsby (1976) was also a film that illustrated the WASP dress code of the 1920s, where Theoni V. Aldredge commissioned Ralph to create the gentlemen’s costumes. The film won the 47th Academy Award for Best Costume Design.
This whole thing can be so-called a simulacrum, or may be what the simulacrum has become in reality. Either way, Ralph Lauren is outstanding as media in this respect and goes far beyond branding.
Immanuel Kant defined beauty as “not equivalent to utility or perfection but is still purposive” in his book of The Critique of Judgment published in 1790. And so, I think Ralph Lauren is the purposelessly-purposive fabric of simulacra.
