Ralph Lauren proves the American dream still sells at New York fashion week

Designer mixes burnt-out velvet and shredded denim with a mythology that keeps getting more profitable

The opening show of fashion’s month of catwalks was not on the official schedule, but Viola Davis and Cynthia Erivo were snuggled on to celebrity-packed benches in a cathedral-sized marble hall where tapestry-hung walls and a gilded coffered ceiling framed a view over lower Manhattan.

Ralph Lauren, who is 86, took his bow at the end of this show casually dressed in a varsity jacket spelling out New York. In an industry obsessed with youth and novelty, Lauren is more relevant than ever in his ninth decade.