Ralph Lauren – Pre Spring/Summer 2016 Ready-To-Wear

Boiled down to its essence, the Ralph Lauren Resort collection was about three things: khaki, combinations of black and white, and denim. But within each of those groupings there was a lot going on. In the khaki group, Lauren explored the equestrian motifs he’s returned to time and again in his nearly half-century career. Fifty years in 2017. This season, the horsey theme was used sparingly. A supple suede shawl was hand-painted with a saddlery motif, but the painting was tone-on-tone, so you almost missed it. Fitted pants came with the patches at the inner knees typical of jodhpurs, but thankfully with none of the volume at the hips. Whipstitching details could be seen here and there: lacing up a wrap suede skirt or defining the waist of a thin neoprene dress. The black-and-white group had a sleeker, more after-dark sensibility. There was newness, not to mention versatility, in an outfit that looked like a dress but was actually a long tunic with a diaphanous, handkerchief hem worn over a long narrow skirt. Not shown in the lookbook was a silk jersey, color-blocked long-sleeved gown. Covered up yet still plenty sexy, it was an excellent retort to the recent spate of naked dresses on the red carpet. Best of all the categories was the raw denim. Black and stitched in white, it looked sharp on a three-piece suit. Spliced with black chiffon on the skirt of a long dress, it was unexpected, but also utterly Ralph.