On Friday night, Ralph Lauren returned to Milan’s runway for only the third time this century to stage a menswear show. The Ralph Lauren Fall 2026 collection arrived with purpose, taking over the brand’s stately Milan headquarters. Colman Domingo, Tom Hiddleston, and Liam Hemsworth sat on brown leather couches while waiters circulated with silver trays of miniature pigs in a blanket. The occasion felt significant, and it was.
| 📌 Key Facts |
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| 🎭 Location: Milan, at Ralph Lauren’s historic headquarters 👔 Collections shown: Polo Ralph Lauren & Purple Label on one runway 🧵 Creative focus: From youthful eclecticism to elevated eveningwear ❄️ Key inspirations: Ivy League, Western wear, après-ski, vintage Americana 🌊 Strategic concept: “Rolling Thunder”, signaling renewed cultural momentum ⭐ Finale moment: Tyson Beckford closing in shearling over eveningwear |
John Wrazeid, the senior brand creative director for men’s Polo, RLX, Purple Label, and children’s Polo, explained that Lauren was motivated to remind people of the breadth of his fashion universe. “Rolling Thunder” was the internal codename that Lauren’s team applied to the growing interest in the designer’s work. This phenomenon was real enough to warrant the Milan presentation, which took an unusual approach: The Polo Ralph Lauren and Purple Label collections shared one runway.
Showing both collections together allowed Lauren to demonstrate his range, from what Wrazej called “the youngest attitude to the most sophisticated.” Polo came first, bursting with the kind of eclectic energy young men have when figuring out their style. Hand-painted denim appeared alongside Fair Isle sweaters, fleeces with folk patterns, and duck cotton workwear pants. Reissued vintage Polo Sport rugby shirts followed, featuring knit versions with anachronistic Gothic font lettering. A buckskin-colored, hand-beaded, fringed western jacket carried what must be a minimum four-figure price tag. The model wore it with an authentically battered guitar.
Lauren reworked the mid-century Ivy League uniform of a navy blazer and gray flannel trousers by adding a Bengal stripe shirt and a wide paisley tie. His team calls this cut the Hayworth silhouette; it is carefully baggy to echo how young collectors wear vintage Ralph Lauren pieces they’ve hunted down. Trousers that appeared to be made of Black Watch tartan were fringed at the side seams to show that they were cut from authentic kilt fabric. The Polo segment offered richly varied looks. A barn jacket made of patchworked vintage tartans served as a fitting metaphor.
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The transition from Polo to Purple Label was abrupt when a caped figure entered the courtyard wearing a tartan blazer and tuxedo pants. Purple Label appeared deeper and more considered. Double-faced camel cashmere was deconstructed into multiple garments, which were worn over gray flannel and cable knit. Charcoal and gray suiting expertly moved across different sartorial registers. Standing out was a cream shearling utility parka, followed by a tuxedo-black airman’s jumpsuit worn over an evening shirt and tie and cinched with a hand-tooled Western wear belt.
Wraejl described this Purple Label collection as “much more après-ski with some performance and technical ski products.” The designer introduced sportier references and playful touches to his most conservative and exclusive range. When Tyson Beckford closed the show in a cashmere Sherpa coat over an evening suit and mountain boots, Lauren demonstrated that his Purple Label customers would embrace multiple personalities, just like those of his Polo counterparts.
Lauren himself remained in New York, preparing for his upcoming womenswear show. He left a note explaining that the collections “are inspired by the different ways men live, their individuality, and their personal style.” The statement felt accurate. Bohemian poets wore paint-splattered jeans; mountain men wore rugged attire; snowboarders wore casual gear; ranchers wore utilitarian clothing; and Ivy League figures wore preppy outfits. All were recognizably dressed in the designer’s aesthetic universe. Many carried cotton tote bags spilling colorful sweaters, with silver flasks dangling from them.
You didn’t need outsized logos to recognize these looks as Ralph Lauren’s work. Terrific camel coats, slim tartan trousers, bright orange puffer jackets, weathered jeans, chairman-of-the-board pinstripes, cashmere sweatpants, and hiking boots all spoke his familiar language of military, Western, preppy, vintage, and establishment references, rooted in equestrian and heritage influences. Yet the designer still made you look twice. His ability to feel both familiar and worth examining is Lauren’s particular skill.
After the finale, guests continued to applaud, waiting to see if Lauren or his design team would appear for a bow. Instead, young waiters in white jackets emerged bearing trays of slender champagne flutes. The gesture was quintessentially on brand. Lauren had sent his team to Milan because the moment demanded it. Rolling Thunder, that steadily building wave of interest, had grown loud enough to warrant a major runway statement. The American designer delivered exactly what Milan needed to see.