In his tribute to Diane Keaton, Ralph Lauren wrote that the American actress “always marched to the beat of her own drum—in the way she lived, the way she saw the world, and the way she made all of us feel.”
Keaton was also singular in another sense: in the way she dressed. When she played Annie Hall in the 1977 film of the same name, Keaton famously styled herself in a mix of her own clothes, vintage finds, and Ralph Lauren designs. Much like Lauren’s first womenswear collection in 1972, the Annie Hall look borrowed from menswear tailoring but embodied an exciting tension between masculinity and femininity.
Such contrasts—and the idea of a woman who dresses for herself, as Keaton did—lie at the heart of Ralph Lauren’s Fall/Winter 2025 collection, The Modern Romantics. The collection is indeed romantic, with its frilled white shirts and ruffled high-neck dresses that echo fashions of the past. Meanwhile, sweeping lace gowns and floral frocks conjure the image of a woman gazing out over the vast American West that Lauren so loves. As her skirt billows in the wind, you might glimpse her leather riding boots.
Those boots, along with the collection’s distressed leather jackets and aviator-inspired pieces, hint at the spirit of adventure that animates the Ralph Lauren woman this season. The collection’s opening look—a dandy ensemble that would have fit right in at this year’s Met Gala—paired a Victorian blouse and vest with pleated trousers. Its polish was interrupted by a worn-looking aviator jacket, as if pulled from Lauren’s own wardrobe.
In reality, that patina was the product of expert craftsmanship rather than years of wear. The nappa leather underwent three distinct dyeing processes to achieve its aged look, while subtle abrasions were added by hand.
Another technical feat appeared in a belted brown coat with a fascinating dégradé texture: leather at the top fading into suede at the hem. Each coat is unique, the effect achieved through a meticulous manual process.
Elsewhere, Lauren reimagined the woman’s smoking jacket as a velvet-twill blazer printed with paisley. The fabric was overdyed, airbrushed, and corroded to create a beautifully faded finish—luxury with a lived-in soul.
These deliberate, time-worn touches suggest another kind of romance: the enduring bond between a woman and her clothes. Obsessed with timelessness, Lauren likens his creations to heirlooms, and the level of craftsmanship more than earns that claim.
It wasn’t only outerwear that possessed this allure. A show-stopping evening gown, with tulle ruffles and intricate beading around the neckline, was cut from satin partially dissolved using the dévoré technique, lending the fabric a seductive sheerness echoed in floral chiffon dresses in deep, autumnal tones.
For the female dandy, there was a plush velvet coat inspired by a gentleman’s smoking robe, its beaded embellishments glimmering against a field of dark purple.
The collection revels in contradiction: light and dark, delicate and rugged, refined yet wild. It is, unmistakably, designed for the modern woman—for whom style is deeply personal, not dictated by rules or conventions. She wears her well-made, well-loved clothes as an expression of independence. And in her leather boots, she marches to the beat of her own drum.
This story first appeared in the November 2025 issue of GRAZIA Singapore.
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