Russia in Ralph Lauren's vision: a country between memories and fantasy

Ralph Lauren spent much of his career creating his own vision of America, reflecting it through university campuses, country clubs, ranches, and old Hollywood. However, one of his most famous collections was dedicated to a completely different country. In 1993, Lauren presented his interpretation of Russia, a country he largely imagined himself.

On March 31, 1993, the famous American designer showcased his fall-winter collection in New York, known as the Russian Collection. A reviewer from The Washington Post saw in it a Russian winter created from Lauren's imagination: the collection contained more hints than direct references to Russian history and culture. Fur hats, dark red shades, and patterns reminiscent of Pavlov Posad shawls were combined with beaver-colored velvet, olive tweed vests, and strict suits.

For Lauren, this collection held personal significance. His family came from the Russian Empire: his father and grandfather left Pinsk and moved to America in 1920, and his mother, like him, was from the territory of modern Belarus. In one interview, the designer mentioned that the idea for the collection arose from a childhood memory of a karakul hat worn by his mother. Lauren himself admitted that he knew little about his parents' homeland, and the Russia he created for the runway he only saw for the first time in 2007 when he opened his boutique in Moscow.