Fashion may love a debut, but longevity has its own special allure. Ralph Lauren, who will turn 87 this year, and whose brand will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2027, is back on our top 10 most-viewed shows list. After his men’s show in Milan topped our menswear ranking back in January, his fall women’s ready-to-wear collection came in at the number six spot. “Rolling Thunder” is the name the brand has adopted internally for the recent upswing in all things RL, and I can vouch for the phenomenon. Even without the benefit of a runway, the Polo Ralph Lauren collection, which was presented in a Paris showroom, made it into our top 20.
Maria Grazia Chiuri’s own Fendi debut did in fact land her a spot in our lineup. “Less I, More Us,” read the motto printed on her runway in Milan, which proved true about the collection’s broad appeal. Haider Ackermann, now in his third season at Tom Ford, also turned up, after narrowly missing the list last season. I reckon this is less about broad appeal than it is the real sense of FOMO Ackermann’s tiny, atmospheric shows produce among fashion obsessives. His collaborator, the movement director Pat Boguslawski, deserves a tip of the hat for the models’ seductive choreography.
Three new entries mean three other brands fell off the list. Two of the fallen, Maison Margiela and Valentino, took themselves out of contention by showing off-schedule. Margiela’s Glenn Martens is headed to Shanghai where he’ll kick off a three-week activation in China with a runway show combining his ready-to-wear and Artisanal collections. And Valentino’s Alessandro Michele swapped Paris for an off-schedule show in Rome on Thursday night. Balenciaga’s Pierpaolo Piccioli is the third name to slip off. His Euphoria hook-up didn’t quite light up the internet, maybe it was too early to capitalize on any excitement brewing for the April release of season three. But Piccioli has other projects to look forward to, including his couture debut in July.
The rest of the list is fairly stable: Dior’s Jonathan Anderson snagged the number one spot from Chanel’s Matthieu Blazy, Gucci’s resident provocateur Demna is holding steady, and Miuccia Prada, another designer with longevity on her side, a point she made with Chloë Sevigny’s repeat appearance 30 years after she first walked a Miu Miu runway, had both of her shows in the top five. Chapeau!
10. Tom Ford, rank last season: new entry
Photo: Filippo Fior/ Gorunway.com
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