'When I began designing, I started with the timeless elements of a classic style I called Polo,' reminisces Ralph Lauren, of the early beginnings of the now iconic American sportswear house. Last night, Lauren added 'a fresh, modern spirit' to the megabrand, opening its first flagship store on New York's Fifth Avenue with a watershed fashion week show.
Back in 2011, the house projection mapped its New Bond Street store with 15ft models, who strode across the exterior. Yesterday, Ralph Lauren scaled things up a notch, taking over Central Park's Cherry Hill pond for its latest hi-tech hijinks: a holographic light show extravaganza, set against a 60 ft wall of water. The misty backdrop romantically offset Polo's spirited S/S 2015 offering, which saw its famed t-shirt teamed with silken ball skirts. Meanwhile, Big Apple icons from the Brooklyn Bridge to the High Line completed the cinemascape.
Mere blocks away, the three-storey, 38,000 sq ft store similarly drew together the Polo universe, while also debuting Ralph Lauren's first coffee shop 'Ralph's Coffee'. Located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 55th Street, the destination boutique's historic façade gives way to traditional Ralph interiors, uniting the polished woods of a Long Island boathouse with the lime-washed brickwork of a Williamsburg loft. The morning after the night before, you can imagine the still mesmerised party goers forming at neat queue at Ralph's.
