of a designer who is alive today who has spanned as many decades in business and had anything like the colossal effect Ralph Lauren has had on what we wear, how we decorate and how we live. While his fashion lines started earlier,the imagery, some shot 40 years ago, looks as fresh as the day the photographer captured it. Ralph Lauren’s ethos has always been about living the best life you can. His life is an awe-inspiring example – from entrepreneurial success and longevity on the world stage across fashion and homewares, an extraordinary property portfolio, classic car collection, substantial philanthropic endeavours and an enviably happy family. With his signature formula, he has managed to distill a selection of essentially American style genres from Hollywood to the Midwest to elevated Hamptons to urban chic. When he’s taken cues from the great European houses, he has amplified and polished them for an audience hungry for European style re-imagined for global lifestyles. The world of RL, particularly the homewares, offers an exclusive entrée into a sphere that may have once been reserved for the privileged few. Ralph Lauren invites you to be a part of his world and make yours the best it can be. On that note, the Sydney RL team launched the new tome with an elegant lunch at the new flagship headquarters in the heritage building in Pitt Street in Sydney’s CBD. A swathe of stylish guests enjoyed the sophisticated world of Ralph Lauren perched prettily above the city streets and traffic with a unique view of Sydney’s skyscape. style director-at-large Steve Cordony took guests through a table styling session inspired by the pages of the new volume. And the final word from Ralph Lauren on the release of the book this year: “The reason I decided to enter home furnishings 40 years ago was because I had something to say. I knew I wanted to make as complete a statement for the home as I have in apparel. I design an entire world – and every element in that world is created with the same precision and eye for what’s unique, beautiful.”
