New  York Fashion Week Day Seven

Ralph Lauren sent out a jewel of a collection using an unexpected theme of military khaki. But the soft, luxurious fabrics – from satin to chiffon – and the yellow green drab, illuminated with richly coloured jewellery, were as far as could be imagined from bush or battlefield.

“Khaki has always been part of my world, along with denim, and for the jewels I was thinking of India, but not too much,” said Ralph Lauren, as he received an ovation from his family and front-row guest Julianne Moore.

The Indian element came in Gurkha trousers with fullness at the hips, or fresh shirts as seen on safari in cinematic dreams. And in vivid, not to say violent, colours.

The essence of the show was announced by the line of chandeliers wrapped in chiffon to dull the sparkle. Everything was luxurious, but subtle – give or take the violet silk top that opened the show and the splashes of Maharajah pink or the yellow and green of spicy vegetable peppers.

But khaki was the star, used just like denim for anything from a fitted Rajah jacket to a safari top. It looked glamorous as a spreading evening skirt in chiffon. Most dramatic was the use of a sequinned scarf at the neck to illuminate an olive drab shirt and a multi-coloured necklace inside a similar tailored blouse.

The credo of a Ralph Lauren show is that the new apple never grows far from the old tree. The shows are therefore predictable in a certain sense. Or brand aware, from a different perspective.

This summer show on the final day of New York Fashion Week, was quintessential Ralph, yet it had fresh elements, particularly in the choice of airy fabrics and the accessories. Shoes, bags and especially those jewels suggest a new focus from the designer, whose Indian escapade bore fruit.