Python leather and leopard-printed suede bags. High cinched waist belts and snakeskin platform sandals paired with exotic inspired dresses in gold fabrics were the highlights of Ralph Lauren’s NYFW. The American designer wanted to turn his namesake boutique on Madison Avenue in an oasis adorned by orchids: a bright decoration to introduce the main themes of the 2017-2018 autumn winter collection. Leather jackets with a distressed feel worn on top of glamorous mermaid-like dresses in earthy hues were the stars of the collection. Ralph Lauren himself paraded along the catwalk waving to the audience dressed in a luxury vintage leather vest. With the end of the show, also came the end of CEO of Stefan Larsson job in the company. The managing director, who joined the company in late 2015, will leave the brand Thursday, February 2nd. The founder, Ralph Lauren, announced Larson’s exit: “Stefan and I share the same love and respect for the DNA of this great brand, and we both recognise the need to evolve” explained the designer. “However, we found out that we had different views on how to develop the creative side of the business and the relationship with customers.” The separation comes in the midst of a challenging brand repositioning plan. “I am grateful for the contribution made by Stefan. He put us in the right direction with the Way Forward plan, which was to reduce stocks, the number of references and production costs, decreasing from 15 to nine months the gap between the design of the products and their arrival at the store. Ralph Lauren has yet to work out its business strategies given the drop in sales of 12%, to $ 1.7 billion (equivalent to 1.584 billion euro). Larsson will be replaced ad interim by Jane Nielsen, financial director.
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