Ralph Lauren Woman at New York Fashion Week

It’s finally here, my recap of the Ralph Lauren Collection F/W 2017 show and the official launch of the newest fragrance, Woman, the first woman’s fragrance the brand released in a decade, making this a very special occasion to celebrate. If you’re following on my IG stories you already know what a whirl wind that was. We were invited to join as the ONLY Canadians at the event which was in and of itself a tremendous honour. The Ralph Lauren brand is, after all the quintessential American brand, from Polo to Double RL and of course the collection itself are rooted so deeply in the Americana heritage that it’s impossible to overlook. I’ve always been a fan of the Denim & Supply line that you can find at Hudson’s Bay, with it’s western wear twist, and while in New York, found myself an insane new blanket coat to go with my western, cowboy vibe. As did Tyler actually, at Double RL, which we first discovered in Tokyo a few years back and which just launched a very special anniversary collection to celebrate Ralph’s history with western wear. Essentially we are ready for the Stampede!

Speaking of western vibes, the place we were staying at in New York was one that I have always wanted to check out, the Urban Cowboy B&B, I’ve been following them on IG and drooling over the amazing interiors for quite some time, and since Ralph’s show wasn’t even IN New York we afforded ourselves the luxury of staying all the way in Brooklyn at this rustic abode. Was it everything I dreamt? I have to get back to you on that, with strangers coming through day in and day out and no locks on the door there is definite room for improvement. Regardless, the interiors were still magic and fit the theme of this trip perfectly!

The new fragrance is a really strong new addition to the brand’s range of scents, the bottle itself shaped like a flask and the smell a mix of masculine and feminine notes to perfectly embody the strong, modern woman. Just like the power suit made it’s way into the female wardrobe, the more wood based scent that you’d normally find in a men’s cologne is now part of your perfume selection. Ralph Lauren said it best “When I started designing women’s clothes it was with a menswear sensibility. I love women who take something that could have been masculine, and make it exceptionally feminine.” This works perfectly because I know I am not the only woman who reaches for my husbands cologne shelf on more than one occasion. Fittingly, Woman has been my perfume of choice ever since.

At 5pm, on the day of the show, I was picked up by a driver who put on the Ralph Lauren approved playlist and to the sound of relaxing jazz we took off toward Bedford, New York aka the location of Ralph Lauren’s PRIVATE CAR GARAGE aka the venue for this years show! I legitimately thought we were going to be sitting inside one of those really long garages that are attached to a country house in a very intimate setting, and while it was a very intimate affair of only 300 people (and yes every single one was driven out from New York for the occasion), the garage itself was a massive, two storey warehouse housing some of the most beautiful cars I’ve ever seen. I’m not even into cars and I could probably not tell you which was which but I can still appreciate beautiful things and visually this was a feast! The runway of course was lined with sports cars, and the catering team, who also happened to all be incredibly good looking male models wore matching jumpsuits with ‘Ralph’s Garage’ embroidered across the back. Talk about details! Since I was literally the first one to arrive I had the luxury of taking everything in before the crowds rolled in. The crowds, in this case, were celebrities, bloggers and crème de la crème of New York high society, the likes of Diane Keaton, Katie Holmes, Diane Von Furstenburg and of course the face of the Woman fragrance, Jessica Chastain. I sat with the other bloggers, right behind Leandra Medine and Chiara Ferragni (PINCH ME). I was buzzing so hard from all the excitement that the show itself seemed to go by in a flash, both phones out I was taking shots of Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid as they strutted down the runway. I seriously can’t even begin to express what a dream this was, so much that at times it was hard believe that I was really even there. A polish-canadian girl amongst all these important, beautiful and talented people, like a start of a modern fairy tale.

After the show everyone was directed toward the lower level of the garage where we joined Ralph and his guests of honour for the second part of our evening. Again finding myself at the blogger/media table I was treated to some amazing food (courtesy of the Polo Bar) and some great conversation. Throughout the entire experience I was reminded over and over again how strong the Ralph Lauren brand really is, not only by the amount of money it brings in but most importantly by how consistent and beautifully curated everything is. You don’t, for a second forget, that this is indeed Ralph Lauren’s world.

This year the format of the show was the new see-now-buy-now model, which meant that the very next day we were invited to come shop the entire collection at the Ralph Lauren Flagship store on Madison Avenue. If I thought that the Ralph Lauren experience was over at midnight when my carriage took me back home I was sorely mistaken. The store experience was just as mesmerizing as the night before, and seeing and feeling the garments in person was a real treat. THIS right here is why I love fashion. Being able to experience the collection this way is unbeatable, and in a setting like this one, even more so. No wonder I walked out of that store with the most giant smile on my face. This, most certainly, was the experience of a lifetime and I am so grateful to the Ralph Lauren and the L’oreal team for making it possible.

Shop the new ‘Woman’ fragrance at Hudson’s Bay and Sephora, and be part of Ralph’s world. xoxo