The Inspo for Ralph Lauren’s Latest Home Collection? His Cars
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“Cars are like children,” the designer Ralph Lauren once said. “It’s very hard to say that any one is my favorite.” Of course, it’s hard to choose when your garage is filled with some of the world’s most coveted automobiles, from a 1938 Bugatti Type 575C Atlantic coupe to a 1929 Blower Bentley and a 1955 Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing coupe. The fashion icon is so enamored of his Ferraris and Alfa Romeos that he has now created an entire home line inspired by his passion.
This week, the Modern Driver Collection is making its debut at Milan Design Week at the Palazzo Ralph Lauren, the 12,000-square-foot midcentury mansion that the designer has owned since 1999.
The centerpiece of the wide-ranging collection is Lauren’s iconic RL-CF1 chair, a 2003 design inspired by his McLaren F1 Race Car and made with the same carbon fiber used in Formula 1 race cars. Joining it are such new designs as the Carbon Fiber Side Table and the Turner Nesting Table—the latter with a louvered mahogany design and stainless-steel trim that echo luxury automotive detailing. The furniture collection is the first to debut under a new collaboration between Ralph Lauren and Haworth Lifestyle Design, which produces luxury furnishings in Italy.
The Modern Driver Collection will include lighting, like the Beckford table lamp, now available in a metal wire mesh inspired by the grilles of Lauren’s Blower Bentley. There will also be dinnerware, including porcelain plates with a speedometer-inspired design, and bed linens and accessories such as the Pierce throw pillow, whose perforated leather and RL zipper pulls in silver nickel are reminiscent of the interiors of Lauren’s vintage autos.
“I’ve always been inspired by things built for a purpose,” Lauren says. “The cars I’ve collected over the years have a kind of functional beauty. Most of them were hand-built and designed for speed. Every detail was meticulously considered and crafted.”
The Modern Driver Collection will arrive in stores this fall.
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