The Designer Returns to His New York Studio on the Eve of Fashion Week
August 18, 2025- NYFW SS26 – Ralph Lauren SS26
This September, New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2026 officially runs from September 11 to 16, marking the start of the international fashion calendar after the summer lull. The schedule is packed with American names determined to set the tone for the season. Yet, one of its most powerful figures, Ralph Lauren, will show his collection a night earlier, on September 10. By stepping outside the official calendar, Lauren continues a pattern of defining his own rhythm while still commanding the spotlight that NYFW brings.
Lauren’s return to his private studio at 650 Madison Avenue signals an intimate approach. Over the last several years, the designer has staged his runway in settings that mirror his lifestyle: an artist’s loft at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, an equestrian estate in the Hamptons attended by First Lady Jill Biden, and most recently the Jack Shainman Gallery in Tribeca, a Gilded Age palazzo reimagined for fashion. Each choice has been deeply personal, a way of presenting clothes as part of his own American mythology.
The Studio Becomes His Stage Once Again
Choosing Madison Avenue for SS26 is both practical and symbolic. It places the spotlight back on the city that launched his career. Lauren began in the Empire State Building. He later moved into a brownstone on West 55th Street. Finally, he settled near Madison Avenue, where his studio still stands today.
The studio now works as both a workplace and a stage. It merges design and presentation in one intimate address.
By showing off-calendar, Lauren signals his independence from the official CFDA schedule. He prefers to frame his collections on his own terms. The timing, on the eve of Fashion Week, ensures attention without direct competition. His show becomes both an opening act and a statement apart.
While other designers prepare SS26 in vast venues and immersive sets, Lauren strips it back. He returns to the essentials: clothes, craft, and a city that has shaped him from the beginning.
📌 Ralph Lauren SS26
📅 September 10, 2025
📍 650 Madison Avenue, New York
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