Past the shingle houses, windmills and rolling meadows, Ralph Lauren brought First Lady Jill Biden and the fashion crowd to the Hamptons for his spring 2025 runway show Thursday night, flexing his muscle as an American luxury leader who can compete with the European titans.
Building on a summer when Ralph Lauren has been in the cultural spotlight at the Olympics in Paris and the U.S. Open, the epic event was held at Khalily Stables, a 19-acre equestrian estate between Bridgehampton and Water Mill, with the 200 guests at each of the two shows arriving via private car or bus, courtesy of the brand.
A number of celebrities made the hours-long trek from Manhattan, including Audra Day, Usher, Laura Dern, Rufus Wainwright, Coleman Domingo and Cole Sprouse. But the guest of honor was First Lady Jill Biden.
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The Biden family has a special relationship with the Lauren family. The first lady has worn Ralph Lauren on several occasions, including at the Olympics, even turning up at the brand’s party at its Paris flagship during the Games. Naomi Biden, the granddaughter of President Joe Biden, chose Ralph Lauren to design her White House wedding gown in 2022.
“And a lot of people don’t realize that when President Biden was sworn in he was wearing a Ralph Lauren suit and he’s been a Ralph Lauren man for a long time,” David Lauren, the company’s vice chairman and chief innovation officer, said during a collection preview with WWD.
The evening opened with cocktails and closed with dinner at a recreation of the Polo Bar that was months in the making, and faithful to the original in New York City, down to the horsey paintings.
Like the American West, Colorado, Jamaica and New York City, the Hamptons have been part of the Lauren lifestyle and brand iconography for decades. The Laurens have been spending time on Long Island since the 1970s, renting houses in Southampton, Amagansett and East Hampton, then buying their first home set on a cliff in Montauk in the ’90s.
“Just like I did the ultimate California, this is the ultimate Hamptons, it’s the whole dreamworld,” said Ralph Lauren, referring back to his last destination runway show for spring 2023, held at the Huntington Gardens in Pasadena, Calif.
The spring 2025 show featured looks from Ralph Lauren Collection, Purple Label and Polo Ralph Lauren for men, women and children, loosely drawing inspiration from the Hamptons environs, with nods to the maritime and equestrian experiences, numerous shades of blue inspired by the blue skies (which thankfully were with the brand for the event), crisp whites and tans.
The made-in-Italy collection pieces reflected Lauren’s strategy of elevating the brand with couture-level workmanship for day and night, as seen on a tan cardigan hand-knit from Tussah yarn and leather mesh, worn over a crochet bralette and white cotton eyelet full skirt, and a mesh evening blazer with 600,000 crystals, worn over a long jersey skirt with a concho belt hinting at Lauren’s knack for an eclectic mash-up. The finale gown conjured the treasures of the seaside nearby, with more than 200,000 pearls attached by hand in a degrade design.
Purple Label men’s looks — double-breasted blue blazers, lots of linen, velvet loafers and silk neckties — reflected the casual elegance of Hamptons nights.
“I was going to wear a tie but then I decided it wasn’t the right thing,” said Lauren, who instead was rocking an Olympics closing ceremony jacket.
The Polo collection mixed up the core brand classics that are finding a new Gen Z customer, including polo pony emblazoned windbreakers and rugby shirts, “USA” swimsuits, and the American flag sweater that originally debuted in 1985 and was recently worn by Ella Emhoff at the Democratic National Convention.
“You’ve got to keep the story going,” Lauren said of balancing consistency and newness.
The designer’s language of washed plaids, varsity looks, Western and equestrian touches also came through, as did a few nods to his love of “The Great Gatsby” (and work on the men’s suiting in the 1972 film). The linen shirtwaists, tailcoats and 1920s beaded flapper headpieces worn by the story’s characters in the fictional East and West Egg of Long Island were made modern in their mix with fraying denim, sportswear and the bestselling Polo ID bags.
Lauren also debuted a handsome new handbag called The Ralph, a gorgeous tote with metal and wood hardware inspired by the interiors of the designer’s vintage cars, some of which were on display outside for the evening.
The childrenswear was all about color, stripes and optimism, including the sunny-yellow look of a pint-sized windbreaker, cable knit sweater and riding pants. “My mom and her friend have a whole section in their closets for Ralph Lauren,” said the 14-year-old model wearing it.
The Ralph Lauren company first established itself in East Hampton in 1992 when it opened its Country Store on Main Street. Back then the town was more residential than resort. But as the population grew, so did the company’s presence and involvement in the community.
The Ralph Lauren children’s store opened in the summer of 2007 in the oldest surviving building in East Hampton, and contains the framework of a 16th-century settler’s home. In 2008, Lauren committed to historical preservation of the town’s Mulford Farm homestead and land, with a plan for a longer partnership with the East Hampton Historical Society. And in 2012, wife Ricky published “The Hamptons: Food, Family, and History” detailing 40 years of the family’s experience in the region, with recipes, personal photos and original watercolors.
There are three Ralph Lauren stores in East Hampton and one in Southhampton, and Lauren now owns three contiguous beachfront properties on Montauk.
Defying the broader luxury brand slowdown, Ralph Lauren continued to increase profits in the first quarter, executing on its elevated brand positioning, with a 6 percent increase in average unit retail prices. Brand revenues for the three months ended June 29 rose 1 percent to $1.51 billion from $1.5 billion.
Clearly the runway has been part of the company’s winning strategy. Lauren last showed in April at his Madison Avenue headquarters.
Chief executive officer Patrice Louvet told WWD last month, “In this industry that is so volatile, that has a number of different trends that come and go, what I think characterizes Ralph Lauren and the man and the company for the past 57 years now, is this clarity, consistency of who we are, what we stand for, what matters to us.”
