On Saturday, the United States’ clothier in chief met its commander in chief, as Ralph Lauren became the first fashion designer to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Dressed in a tweed blazer, a knit necktie and squishy dark sneakers, Lauren, 85, was described in an introduction as “classic yet creative, timeless yet innovative.” He was praised for reminding “us of our distinct style 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 bestowed upon a host of cultural, corporate and political figures, including Babe Ruth, Mother Teresa, Julia Child, Warren Buffett, John McCain and Rush Limbaugh.
If ever there was a fashion designer worthy of this award, it is Lauren. A son of the Bronx, Lauren marketed a preppy image to the upwardly mobile masses, building his eponymous company into a multimillion-dollar corporation — one he remains executive chair and chief creative officer of nearly a half-century after he founded it.
The fashion world, which had been largely absent from the event in the past, was well represented at the White House on Saturday. Joining Lauren in receiving the gilded medallion from President Joe Biden was Anna Wintour, a steely Brit (and longtime supporter of Democratic causes) who has been Vogue’s editor-in-chief since 1988.
In her introduction, Wintour, who was dressed in a shin-length plaid coat and forwent her ever-present oversized sunglasses for the occasion, was hailed for using “fashion as a mirror to reflect our culture.”
Other recipients Saturday included Hillary Clinton, Bono, José Andrés and George Soros.
Lauren, was joined at the ceremony by his wife of 60 years, Ricky Lauren, dressed in a sleek black suit, and his elder brother Jerry Lauren. Also in attendance were Lauren’s three children: Andrew, David and Dylan.
Born in New York to immigrant parents in 1939, Lauren nosed into the apparel market in the late 1960s by introducing a line of men’s neckties, which he sold out of a drawer in a showroom in the Empire State Building. Soon, Lauren was marketing a holistic shoes-to-suits brand of aspirational prepwear.
The rest is well-trod fashion history, as Lauren rode his brand’s pony logo to the celestial heights of American fashion. In a sense, he found success by perfecting the building blocks of the all-American look: bluejeans, polo shirts, white T-shirts, flannels and work boots. As Lauren told luxury magazine Robb Report in 2023, “I loved things that were American.” His brand’s brisk-selling American flag sweaters put an exclamation point on that.
Lauren expanded the brand into winsome home goods and personally came to embody the aspirational image pushed through his label’s cinematic ad campaigns. Lauren’s holdings include a garage full of automobiles and a sprawling ranch in the Colorado mountains. Rife with leather furniture, saddle blankets and polished wood accents, Lauren’s oft-photographed homes are lived-in tableaus of his well-honed 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 U.S. Olympic team, dressing athletes in all forms of spangled and striped sportswear. In 2022, during a period of national soul-searching about racial inequity, Ralph Lauren collaborated with Morehouse College and Spelman College, two historically Black colleges in Atlanta, on a collection including silk wrap dresses and a schoolboy blazer — dressy pieces defying the look of today’s sweatpants-loving undergrads.
There is bipartisan appeal to Lauren’s clothes. Nancy Reagan and Michelle Obama both wore the brand’s designs during their time in the White House. In 2017, Melania Trump wore a cashmere dress from the brand at her husband’s swearing-in. Lauren’s son, David, married George H.W. Bush’s granddaughter Lauren in 2011.
Lauren’s company seems to hold a special significance for the Bidens. Biden wore a Ralph Lauren overcoat and suit at his inauguration in 2021 while the first lady, who has often been photographed in the brand’s designs (including on the cover of Wintour’s Vogue last year), was the marquee guest at Ralph Lauren’s most recent runway show, held in the Hamptons in September.—NYT
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