The Enduring Appeal Of Ralph Lauren And Diane Keaton

Last night, in Ralph Lauren’s garage, amidst an impressive assortment of Bugattis and Bentleys, the all-American fashion icon presented his see-now-buy-now Autumn/Winter 2017 collection to an audience that included an equally impressive line-up of Hollywood stars. Seated alongside the likes of Katie Holmes and Jessica Chastain was Diane Keaton, a woman who has played an integral part in Lauren’s career and, dressed in a tuxedo suit, looked as brilliant in the brand as ever before.

So what role does Keaton have to play in Lauren’s success story? Well, when she took the role of Annie Hall in Woody Allen’s 1977 film, it quickly became one of fashion’s greatest hits, signifying the moment when androgynous tailoring entered the mainstream, made covetable as was by Keaton’s self-styled ease. With a wardrobe of patterned ties, oversized blazers and waistcoats supplied by Ralph Lauren – who was then relatively new on the scene – as the film became a hit, so did Lauren himself and sales spiked. As costume designer Ruth Morley told Vogue back in 1978, “Now people tell me that all the girls in London and Paris are turned out like Annie Hall... It’s crazy; it’s practically become a household word!"

“Annie’s style was Diane’s style - very eclectic,” said the designer himself in Vogue on Ralph Lauren. “Oversized jackets and vests, floppy men’s hats and cowboy boots. We shared a sensibility, but she had a style that was all her own. Annie Hall was pure Diane Keaton.” That being said, he had a significant role to play in it all – and, when Keaton turned up last night wearing a bowler hat to the show, it was clearly paying tribute to Hall and Lauren alike.

For those looking to channel Annie Hall’s insouciant cool today, Lauren presented a collection that not only offered grease-monkey glamour, but came complete with an assortment of tweed tailoring fit for an androgynous revival. It proves that Lauren, and Keaton, are embedded in fashion’s history and future alike.