Ralph Lauren Draws A-List Hollywood Crowd for Sumptuous Show

Models walk the runway at the Ralph Lauren Spring 2023 Fashion Experience on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022, at The Huntington in Pasadena, Calif. (AP)
Models walk the runway at the Ralph Lauren Spring 2023 Fashion Experience on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022, at The Huntington in Pasadena, Calif. (AP)
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Ralph Lauren Draws A-List Hollywood Crowd for Sumptuous Show

Models walk the runway at the Ralph Lauren Spring 2023 Fashion Experience on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022, at The Huntington in Pasadena, Calif. (AP)
Models walk the runway at the Ralph Lauren Spring 2023 Fashion Experience on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022, at The Huntington in Pasadena, Calif. (AP)

Bronx-born Ralph Lauren, a quintessential New Yorker, had never staged a runway show on the West Coast before. So clearly, with his first show in sunny California, he was going to go big — or, well, stay home.

Big he went, staging a sumptuous display of his well-honed ethos of casual luxury, with strong Western accents like cowboy hats and boots, against a setting sun at the grand Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, near Los Angeles.

Rivaling his lavish 50th anniversary show in New York’s Central Park in 2018, Thursday’s extravaganza brought in a slew of movie stars — including newlyweds Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck — to watch more than 120 models strut the runway, including some adorable tots in Lauren's childrenswear who had the fashionable crowd gasping with delight.

"We’re in show business," the 83-year-old designer said simply in a post-show interview, standing next to the endlessly long, candlelit tables where guests dined post-show on Polo Bar burgers, grilled branzino and other specialties from his restaurant in New York.

Lauren explained that early on, he had felt LA wasn’t his style, but that changed and he finally decided, "OK let’s do something in LA, but let’s do it great."

Always a celebrity magnet, Lauren brought out a slice of A-list Hollywood with Lopez and Affleck, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, Sylvester Stallone, John Legend, Diane Keaton, Jessica Chastain, Laura Dern, Chris Pine and James Marsden, to name a few.

The intimate affair for some 200 people began with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres like tuna tartare on a patio overlooking the lush lawns and gardens of the Huntington, which once housed Gilded Age tycoon Henry Huntington. Celebrity guests mingled along with TikTok influencers and Lauren customers.

As the sun sank lower, guests were summoned to the tiled entrance of the museum, where models strutted to a soundtrack of California-themed songs like "California Dreamin."

There were plenty of cowboy hats, worn-in jeans and boots to begin with, gradually morphing into fancier wear like long, bright skirts and slinky cut-out gowns for the women.

A gasp traveled through the crowd as two small children appeared, each holding one hand of their accompanying adult, dressed in classic Lauren looks of tweed jackets, sweater vests, pinstriped button-downs and white shorts.

More children followed, including a little boy in bright green trousers who stole the moment by insisting on high-fiving everyone he passed.

The show, which featured designs from several Ralph Lauren lines including menswear and childrenswear, finished with the models all returning to gather on the patio, joined by Lauren as he emerged to cheers.

Over dinner, Kushton and Kunis chatted with Legend, who said in an interview before the show that Lauren is "obviously an icon in the fashion business and has meant so much to style for such a long time."

Lopez noted that Lauren had dressed her and Affleck for their recent nuptials. "Ralph did our wedding, so we’ve become quite close," the pop star said. "And we really love his aesthetic."

And singer Maggie Rogers noted she had grown up as a fan of the brand. "I have been watching them for the last couple of years and to me they represent such a timeless American style, and I always try and bring that ... classic thing to my music," she said. "So, it feels like the perfect match."



Designer Rosita Missoni, Pioneer of Colored Knitwear, Dies Aged 93

Rosita Missoni poses before the Missoni Spring/Summer 2018 show at the Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy September 23, 2017. (Reuters)
Rosita Missoni poses before the Missoni Spring/Summer 2018 show at the Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy September 23, 2017. (Reuters)
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Designer Rosita Missoni, Pioneer of Colored Knitwear, Dies Aged 93

Rosita Missoni poses before the Missoni Spring/Summer 2018 show at the Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy September 23, 2017. (Reuters)
Rosita Missoni poses before the Missoni Spring/Summer 2018 show at the Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy September 23, 2017. (Reuters)

Italian designer Rosita Missoni, co-founder of the eponymous fashion house known for its bright and patterned styles, died on Thursday at the age of 93, a company official said.

She had launched the business in 1953 with her husband Ottavio Missoni, developing a brand which became popular for its colorful knitwear featuring geometric patterns and stripes, including the signature zigzag motif known as fiammato.

Born into a family of textile artisans close to the northern Italian town of Varese, Rosita studied modern languages.

On a trip to London in 1948 to improve her English, she met Ottavio, who was competing with the Italian 400 meters hurdles team at the Olympics in the city.

The Missoni brand gained international recognition and awards for its distinctive patterns and avant-garde use of textiles and an approach to fashion often compared to modern art.

It was also helped by what was dubbed the "battle of the bras" in 1967.

Missoni had been invited to show at the Pitti Palace in Florence but before the models went out on the runways Rosita noticed that their bras were visible through their tops, ruining the intended color and pattern effect.

She told the models to remove their bras but, under the runway lighting, their outfits became totally transparent and the incident caused a sensation.

They were not invited to return the next year but Missoni was quickly on the covers of big name fashion magazines such as Vogue, Elle and Marie Claire.

Their layered designs, full of patterns, caught the attention of a fashion world that was turning away from high fashion, and became the standard bearer of the so-called "put together" style.

When the company moved its base to the Italian town of Sumirago, north of Milan, the Missonis set up home next door, with most of their windows overlooking Rosita's beloved Monte Rosa mountains.

Rosita remained creative director for the womenswear collections until the late 1990s, when she passed the task on to her daughter Angela.

The couple suffered tragedy in 2013 when Vittorio Missoni, their eldest son and the company marketing director, was killed in a plane crash off the coast of Venezuela.

Ottavio died in May 2013 at the age of 92, four months after their son's plane had gone missing but before the wreckage had been found.

The brand expanded into home collections and hotels. In 2018 Italian investment fund FSI invested 70 million euros in the family-owned company in exchange for a 41% stake, aiming to strengthen the brand abroad.

Missoni picked Rothschild in 2023 as financial adviser to explore a potential sale of the family-owned company.