Ralph Lauren September Collection 2016

​The see-now-buy-now development of the fashion industry just got more real with Ralph Lauren’s most recent runway show in New York City. Debuting its new runway-to-retail concept in a traffic stopping show at New York Fashion Week on September 14 – which happened across an entire city block, no less – the American luxury label marked a new chapter in its almost 50-year history.

Using the iconic Madison Avenue as its backdrop, the event took place directly outside the 888 Ralph Lauren Collection flagship store with models emerging from the women’s store to strut down the block within a large custom-designed pop-up glass-and-steel structure. Holding the show at the women’s store seals the connection between collections and their immediate consumability, and that stretch of Madison Avenue was reportedly closed for at least two hours. 

The sidewalk spectacular was streamed live on global social media platforms such as Facebook, Youku, Line and Kakao, presenting the collection, including accessories, in its entirety to be seen around the world. Immediately after, the women’s store was open to guests and customers, who were able to buy anything from the collection that was just shown.

Items also became available as the fashion show concluded on RalphLauren.com and in worldwide flagship stores including Beverly Hills, Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Bal Harbour, Boston and Costa Mesa, California, in the United States; Prince’s Building in Hong Kong; Omotesando in Tokyo; New Bond Street in London; Tretyakovsky in Moscow; and Ralph Lauren’s Paris store at Montaigne.

“This is the ultimate expression of luxury – offering you every look, every accessory, every handmade detail immediately in my flagship stores around the world and online,” said Ralph Lauren in the show notes.

The move makes Ralph Lauren the largest American brand to make an entire runway collection immediately available to shoppers, part of a growing industry trend to close the months-long gap between when clothes are shown on runways and when they arrive in stores.

And this collection, simply and aptly named The September Collection, boasted a Western-inspired theme with beaded South-western patterns, studded leather chokers, fringing and giant belts, reaffirming not just Ralph Lauren’s commitment to his consumer but also to the label’s strong American roots.