The Spring 2025 Ralph Lauren Campaign Is One Young Americans Can Believe In
/
Ralph Lauren takes his Spring 2025 campaign to the Hampton’s, a special place in total alignment with the Ralph Lauren brand.
Alasdair McLellan [IG] photographs the gorgeous model cast including Akbar Samji, Bibi Breslin, Hamid Onifadé, He Cong, Layla Etengan, Lucky Blue Smith and Mia Armstrong./ Hair by Akki Shirakawa; makeup by Diane Kendal; Jacob Sutton director
Last September, New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2025 opened in a rather surprising location, casually called the East End by New Yorkers. About 95 miles from Ralph Lauren’s iconic Polo Bar restaurant at 1 E 55th St in Manhattan, America’s most celebrated fashion designer presented his Spring/Summer 2025 collection show at Khalily Stables in Bridgehampton. Guests were transported via helicopter, sea plane, and luxury sedans to mingle and dine at a Polo Bar pop-up.
It was a quintessential Ralph Lauren experience — an ultimate, middle class guy makes good, American experience. They are in short supply these days, but Ralph Lauren should start an entrepreneurial academy for today’s young men so impacted by him.
In Virginia, Ralph Is the Man
After the disappointing 2024 presidential election in America, I cast my focus to work with young men in Virginia, who had voted for Trump. The group can be mixed, but it must have young male Trump voters.
For those young men — Latino, Black and White — Ralph Lauren is their hero. A mix of college men and young business owners, they stunned me with their breath of knowledge about marketing. They also know Louis Vuitton inside out, and Pharrell’s role there. On a related note, I engaged a new attorney in Virginia, a woman of color and we got on famously. She was looking at and raving about AOC, and she knew every detail of Pharrell’s latest news from Paris, including his becoming a UN ambassador.
Circling back to Ralph Lauren and these young men in Virginia, no one came in second for them — not even Pharrell. They were actually concerned about Ralph selling out to LVMH and what would happen to the brand. They knew everything about Ralph and how self-made he is and they started the conversation in a meeting, after noticing a book about Ralph high-up on my bookcase.
I immediately hit pause on my own agenda and we ran with Ralph and how he motivated them to reach for their own brass ring. Ralph Lauren would feel great about the sincere depth of their admiration for him — also as a family man, and how integrated his advertising campaigns have become, for a long time now.
Even this campaign does not pay lip service to an interracial cast. It’s the real deal and these young men talked about that reality, saying “Look at us. We are living what you talk about, Anne.”
They are super savvy young guys who voted for Trump here in VA. Absolutely, there are total jerks, too, but my guys do not regard the Democratic Party as being entrepreneurial. Are they very distressed about what is going on with Trump? Yes. But they still don’t see the Democratic Party as understanding their ambition to ‘make good’.
Regarding their concerns about LVMH buying Ralph Lauren, I assured them that the Arnaults have great respect for the Ralph Lauren brand and they love America. In my opinion, they would only capitalize on what Ralph has created.
Imagine that. Ordinary lower middle-class, young Trump-voting guys in Virginia worrying about LVMH acquiring Ralph Lauren and de-Americanizing it. When you learn to listen and not dominate the convo but go with the flow, it’s amazing the insights one gains.
Once again, Ralph Lauren is delivering to stockholders, customers and admirers alike. Who knows where we’re going with all these tariffs being dropped today by the Trump Administration. My money is on Ralph Lauren to figure it out for the USA. For an immediate spirits lift, watch Lucky Blue interviewing the kids. Totally precious.
