Ralph Lauren
EVEN IN A year with no formal functions to speak of, Ralph Lauren has continued carrying the torch for eveningwear at its most debonair. For his spring collection, Lauren proposed that the most elegant black tie might actually be brown. His shawl-collared double- and single-breasted dinner jackets cut with swaggering peaked lapels come in an earthy palette of tan silk shantung, chocolate linen and ivory tropical wool. But it’s Lauren’s autumn line-up that best captures what dressing up looks like now. Ranging from lustrous velvet separates to classic tuxedo jackets paired with jeans – even an urban-cowboy ensemble with a whip-stitched suede dinner jacket and silk-scarf-cum-bolo-tie – it’s an assortment that speaks to the fun of spiffing up. Adhering to the rules while playfully breaking them, it’s just the stuff for post-pandemic bashes and the roaring 2020s ahead.