Just hours before his spring 2026 show, it was announced that Ralph Lauren had been nominated for the CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year award—a testament that at 85, the nine-time winner continues to sharpen his legacy by looking forward as much as he looks back. His ever-evolving vision of American style is perhaps what led Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce to choose Polo Ralph Lauren for the engagement photos to end all engagement photos. It also informed the house’s recent launch of Ask Ralph, an AI-powered shopping assistant that functions like a personal stylist—ready to deliver the Ralph Lauren aesthetic on demand. That same spirit carried into his spring 2026 collection, unveiled at the brand’s Madison Avenue headquarters on Wednesday, September 10, where Lauren distilled his codes into something intimate, graphic, and distinctly of the moment.
Naomi Watts, Laura Dern, Jessica Chastain, Priyanka and Nick Jonas, Maggie Rogers, Oprah, and Usher were among the stars who gathered at the intimate event, which served as a “coming home” after last season’s sojourn to the Jack Shainman gallery downtown. Surrounded by white walls and wicker chandeliers, they witnessed the designer flip the script from fall’s moody, frilly Edwardian romanticism to deliver a stripped-back collection with strength and sensuality as the guiding principles. The palette was strict—black, white, and red—with tailoring as its anchor: a belted jacket over fluid trousers, a trench tossed over pedal pushers, and pinstripe pants cut with a sarong front. A poet’s tunic with a sweeping bow and utility jackets reimagined with ballooned trousers cinched at the ankle reinforced the Lauren woman’s duality as both a “dreamer and a doer,” as the show notes described.
Yao Chen, Mindy Kaling, Jessica Chastain, Naomi Watts, Ariana DeBose, Laura Dern, Jaya Harper front row at the Ralph Lauren spring 2026 show.
From left: Oprah, Usher, and Gayle King
Evening wear skewed unfussy. A sequined skirt paired with a shrunken T-shirt exuded sporty glamour, while gowns in scarlet and black alternated between voluminous and body-conscious silhouettes. Elsewhere, Lauren indulged in texture play and craftsmanship in the form of slip dresses and overalls crafted from leftover white fabrics. Accessories struck a particularly contemporary chord: Silver sculptural pendant necklaces hung like talismanic objets d’art, and wide-brimmed hats were blown up to such proportions that one could almost hear Carrie Bradshaw squeal. Espadrilles, brogues, and thong sandals grounded the lineup in ease while the Ralph bag returned in woven leathers, a swingy, breezy version to complement the ready-to-wear.
During the course of his almost six-decade career, Lauren’s shows have often blurred the line between runway and cultural moment—from cinematic Western tableaux to glittering black-tie galas. This season, however, felt different: quieter, more pared back, and rooted in intimacy. If his earlier presentations invited audiences into a dream of American life, spring 2026 suggested something else entirely—that Ralph Lauren, titan of American fashion, is still finding new ways to reimagine the classics. And in doing so, he remains not just a pioneer but one of the foremost modernists working today. Below, a look at some of the highlights.
