Ralph Lauren: A Way Of Living
In Ralph Lauren’s latest tour-de-force, a Rizzoli-published coffee table tome, there is one particular image which is the simplest yet most emotive of the entire book. He’s walking on the Montauk beach with the love of his life, his wife Ricky Lauren. It’s 1977 and the timeless, effortless, one-of-a-kind-singular style for which he’s known is on full display. Both of them are wearing sheared khaki shorts. She’s in a cobalt blue cotton shirt, and he’s in a sleeveless green puffer, exuding a full-on Steve McQueen vibe with shimmering, silver aviators. The image is so definitive of the ethos of Ralph Lauren that we had to put it on the cover. It’s simply déshabillé, the French “undressed,” the kind of studied informality one can only be born with.
“Life was so simple and easy,” Ralph opines about that time. Fast-forward to more than forty years later: Ralph Lauren’s imprimatur on design and lifestyle has been published three times already, but is now definitively presented in the new Rizzoli coffee table book, Ralph Lauren: A Way Of Living. A whopping 544 pages contain some 400 sumptuous images (many by Bruce Weber and never seen before).
The whole idea, the publisher says, is “to bring the cinematic vision of Ralph Lauren to life” via this stunning and intimately written book that covers the many decades of influence and innovation from one of the world’s most revered tastemakers. The book is divided into three chapters: Homes, Lifestyles and History. “What I do is about living the best life you can and enjoying the fullness of life around you. From what you wear to the way you live to the way you love. Our homes are a canvas for living,” says Ralph.
Without a doubt, Ralph Lauren has created a multifaceted world evoking an unparalleled original style that took hold with his groundbreaking home collection of 1983. It was the first opportunity for the consumer to experience the complete world of Ralph Lauren in a residential environment.
Now the designer takes us on the most intimate reveal of his sumptuous homes across the globe. We journey from city to country mansions, from farm to beach to penthouse. “Homes that tell our
story,” and every interior design junkie’s wet dream: From the Colorado bunker, the sprawling ranch with its distinct homage to the native American aesthetic, to swashbuckling Ralph at the gorgeous villas at Round Hill, Jamaica. The most breathtaking images are perhaps of the latter—he is, after all, a proud Jamaican—and I believe the property he most cherishes.
The book opens with the Montauk property “set on a high cliff,” Ralph tells us. “This is the house straight from the heart.” What does that mean? How about a splendid pool resembling a blue lagoon off Madagascar? I love the character of old things, and I built this house out of an old barn.” This reviewer considers it an ode to the Double RL brand aesthetic, with its chic cowboy and indigenous Americana touches. “My vision continues to be as it was in the beginning—it hasn’t changed. Here, we were looking for a complete change of culture and yet in a way that was fulfilling.” The result is Double RL country, to the hilt.
By contrast, the Fifth Avenue penthouse off Central Park is minimalist and sleek, apart from the jarring image of an authentic Star Wars Stormtrooper movie mannequin—a life-size replica—with pride of place. It’s the one bit of Hollywood kitsch so blithely featured in any of his properties. These are all deeply personal expressions from a man not known for showing off his acquired wealth and possessions. He says as much throughout the book, along with several other unexpected revelations.
‘”Tuxedos worn with jeans and cowboy boots” is how Ralph defines the mood when the family spends most early winters at the mansion in Bedford, New York. “My homes have always offered refuge, warmth and comfort for me and my family. I’ve never followed architectural rules; I look for things that make my heart race. Bedford is the place we can get in the car and drive on the spur of the moment.” Gorgeous, bucolic Bedford, where the buzzwords are warmth, individuality and glamour. “Fall is the season we associate with Bedford,” Ralph whispers.
But no other Ralph Lauren home races this arbiter’s heart more than the impossibly perfect set of Round Hill Villas in Jamaica. This historic property west of Montego Bay at the Round Hill Hotel And Villas showcases the most flawless, never-before-seen images. Any true connoisseur of fine travel must consider scoring an invite to spend two nights in the guest villa, The White Villa, of the RL Round Hill compound—a bucket list assignment for the ages. (Hint! Hint.) Situated on the lush peninsula of the western St. James Parish is this truly historic 70-year-old Jamaican hotel & villa property. Not only did Ralph design all the guest rooms at Round Hill but what he also did with the two villa properties, the first owned since 1997. “This is the closest thing to heaven that I think I can feel,” says the sarong-ed, bare-chested Ralph posing up a storm from the cliffs of Round Hill. We get the most ravishing peeks here– behind those Matisse Blue doors of the splendid Round Hill property. “Clean with a kind of barefoot luxuriousness.”
“We moved into a romantic old villa on the highest point of the land,” he says of setting sight on his now iconic High Rock Villa of Round Hill. “It had a spirit and a glamour that harkened back to the days when Grace Kelly, Noel Coward and Errol Flynn wintered there.” And so, of course, when in residence at High Rock Villa, “those evenings call for a little island glamour.” Which means white-jacket dinners on the verandah amongst the polished Blue Mahoe hardwood-wrapped doorways with hibiscus, one-of-a-kind orchids and Capri vibe of overflowing bougainvillea everywhere. All to the beat of chirping island insects and the ever-restless Caribbean Sea. It looks like a floating island, all pristine white and Matisse Blue with the Jamaican-styled shingled roof and sleek white concrete and marble shapes. “My life here is about rejuvenating, a sense of quiet and of privacy.”
There is much to laud in this book, perhaps foremost Ralph graciously allowing us to ogle his homes. Each Ralph and Ricky Lauren home displays its own distinct visual language, and there’s no denying that a Ralph Lauren home is no ordinary home. His latest book is a wonderful exercise in finessing brand heritage and refinement on a very personal level.
And so we will leave it to his decades-long friend, peer and fellow iconic American tastemaker in Calvin Klein to remind us: ‘”Ralph was the first to create a lifestyle that embodied clothing, furniture and travel—no one has done it better.” Amen, Calvin, amen.
