On Saturday, the United States’ chief clothier met his commander in chief, as Ralph Lauren became the first fashion designer to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Dressed in a tweed blazer, a knitted necktie and deep black boots, Mr Lauren, 85, is described in an introduction as “classic yet creative, timeless yet innovative”. He was praised for “reminding us of our distinctiveness as a nation of dreamers and doers”.
Established by John F. Kennedy, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor. It has been awarded to numerous cultural, corporate and political figures including Babe Ruth, Mother Teresa, Julia Child, Warren Buffett, John McCain and Rush Limbaugh.
If ever a fashion designer deserved this award, it is Mr. Lauren. A son of the Bronx, Mr. Lauren marketed a preppy image to an upwardly mobile public, earning his eponymous company a multi-million dollar fortune. built into the corporation—which he served as executive chairman and chief creative officer for nearly half a century after founding it.
The fashion world, which has been largely absent from the event in the past, was well represented at the White House on Saturday. Joining Mr. Lauren in receiving the gold medal from President Biden was Anna Wintour, a staunch Brit (and longtime supporter of the Democratic cause) who has been Vogue’s editor-in-chief since 1988.
In her introduction, Ms. Wintour, who was dressed in a calf-length plaid coat and her ever-present oversized sunglasses for the occasion, called fashion “a mirror to reflect our culture.” Appreciated for using”.
Other recipients Saturday included Hillary Clinton, Bono, Jose Andres, Lionel Messi and George Soros.
Mr Lauren was joined at the event by his wife of 60 years, Ricky Lauren, who was dressed in a sleek black suit, and his older brother Jerry Lauren. Also in attendance were Mr. Lauren’s three children: Andrew, David and Dylan.
Born in New York to immigrant parents in 1939, Mr. Lauren broke into the apparel market in the late 1960s by introducing a line of men’s neckties, which he sold from a drawer in a showroom in the Empire State Building. Sold. Soon, Mr. Lauren was marketing a holistic shoes-to-suit brand of aspirational prewear.
The rest of the fashion history is good, as Mr. Lauren took his brand’s pony logo to the heights of American fashion. In a sense, he succeeded by perfecting the building blocks of the all-American look: blue jeans, polo shirts, white T-shirts, flannels and work boots. Like Mr. Lauren told luxury magazine Rob Report In 2023, “I liked things that were American.” His brand’s fast-selling American flag sweaters put an exclamation point on that.
Mr. Lauren expanded the brand into luxury homewares and personally came to embody the aspirational image conveyed through his label’s cinematic ad campaigns. Mr. Lauren’s holdings include a garage full of automobiles and a sprawling ranch in the mountains of Colorado. Filled with leather furniture, saddle blankets and polished wood accents, Mr. Lauren’s often-photographed homes are living tableaus of his thoroughly all-American look.
Through his brand, the designer has been a patriotic cheerleader, and if not a friend, at least an acquaintance, to many political figures. For decades, his company has outfitted the United States Olympic team, outfitting the athletes in all kinds of leather and striped sportswear. In 2022, during a national soul-searching about racial inequality, Ralph Lauren Cooperated with Morehouse College and Spelman College, two historically black colleges in Atlanta, featured silk wrap dresses and a schoolboy blazer — clothing pieces that belied the look of today’s sweatpants-loving undergrads. .
Mr. Lauren’s clothes have a two-way appeal. Nancy Reagan and Michelle Obama both wore the brand’s designs during their time in the White House. In 2017, Worn by Melania Trump. A Kashmiri dress from the brand on the occasion of her husband’s swearing-in. Mr. Lauren’s son David married Lauren, the granddaughter of George HW Bush, in 2011.
Mr. Lauren’s company holds special significance for the Bidens. Mr Biden wore a Ralph Lauren overcoat and suit to his inauguration in 2021, while Jill Biden, who often Photographed Among the brand’s designs (including Ms. Wintour on the cover of Vogue last year), Ralph Lauren was the guest of honor at a recent event. Runway showHeld in Hampton in September.