Ralph Lauren F/W ’12

Another NY fashion week is on hand. While there will be plenty of press on brands like Michael Bastian, Simon Spurr, and Rag & Bone who capture the attention of editors and bloggers alike with their runway shows, the biggest brand of them all will likely continue on relatively unnoticed this week. Ralph Lauren rarely shows it’s menswear collection, save their wonderful F/W ’06 collection that Ralph demanded get the runway treatment, but just because they don’t opt for center stage doesn’t mean that they’re not doing just as interesting of work as the others. It’s all too easy to dismiss Ralph Lauren as the mega-brand that sticks to it’s formula and recycles their looks, but in reality their collections are just as intricate as any of those on show.

With a staggering diversity of Purple Label, Black Label, Polo, and now Black Label Denim and Denim & Supply, they’re always making fashion commentary in places that the Ralph Lauren name isn’t typically associated with. While their still may be boundaries that some other great designers–Umit Benan, Michael Bastian, and Thom Browne–aren’t quite faced with, this makes the designers at RL some of the best architects of clothing in the business. Black Label looks to be particularly strong for F/W ’12, especially this monochromatic fatigue look above. Check the rest of the images for the full RL F/W ’12 experience.