Ralph Returns to Milan With Mediterranean-skewed Purple Label Collection
Ralph Lauren knows a thing or two about the good life.
After an absence of four years, the designer is returning to the Milan men’s calendar with his Purple Label collection, titled “Dolce Vita.”
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The luxury line’s spring 2024 collection is inspired by the “romance of a sun-soaked holiday spent along the Amalfi coast,” an influence that is evident in an offering that ranges from the rugged elegance of denim suit separates to lightweight gabardine pants and silk shantung dinner jackets paired with cashmere turtlenecks.
“Summer inspires a way of dressing that has a certain kind of ease and effortlessness, a laid-back sophistication defined by the warmth of the sun and the romance of summer nights,” Lauren said. “My spring/summer 2024 collections for Purple Label reflect that spirit with a subtle glamour that is cool and charming, defining a personal style that is enduring all year round.”
The collection, which will be shown during a presentation on Friday, is broken down into three separate yet complementary stories. The first is focused heavily on denim and includes cotton-linen indigo-dyed suits, chambray shirts and textured knitwear. There are also garment-dyed suede trucker jackets, chore jackets and lightweight denim shorts, as well as chalk-striped suits, a floral patterned shawl collar dinner jacket and even a robe with a stacked RL logo on the pocket.
Story two centers around a brown and cream palette with silk-linen-cashmere sport coats, Italian poplin sport shirts, burnished lambskin biker jackets and unlined suede safari jackets. An assortment of hand-knit sweaters is also offered.
The final story is much more colorful with a palette that ranges from fuchsia and orange to kelly green in sport coats, and playful patterns on pants and swimwear.
There is a wide assortment of footwear in the collection with a heavy emphasis on summer styles such as cotton-linen boat shoes, fisherman’s sandals and espadrilles.
In its entirety, Purple Label is the quintessential definition of the return-to-elegance trend that is permeating the men’s market. But for Lauren, elegance has never gone out of style.
“It’s not about a ‘return’ to elegance,” he said. “I have always stood for and believed in a kind of elegance and luxury that was about quality and comfort and personal style. That is what my Purple Label collections are about, carrying on those timeless traditions that offer men different ways of expressing a sophistication and style that is truly their own.”
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