RALPH LAUREN’S LOVE AFFAIR WITH FASHION AND HEADWEAR

Everyone is talking about Ralph Lauren’s 40th anniversary fashion show and after-party. There were celebrities (Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Robert De Niro, Charlie Rose and Dustin Hoffman) and hats galore. Philip Treacy made the hats – that ran the gamut from large sun hats to riding caps.

According to Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune, “The Ralph Lauren show mixed Edwardian charm with red carpet glamour. The spring/summer 2008 show was a deft mix of Edwardian charm.

By following Cecil Beaton's famous black and white color scheme for the Ascot scene in "My Fair Lady," Lauren took the costume element out of the dresses and the sweeping hats, made by the British milliner Philip Treacy. Sculpted top hats and floral creations gave a touch of eccentricity and irony rare in a Lauren show. And the designer also offered some sly extras of his own, especially squashy satin roses perched provocatively on the spine or even on the shoes.”

I wanted color - and I thought of flowers," Lauren said to explain the flurry of pretty long dresses in floral English wallpaper prints.

The fillies were frisky, the females were frolicking, the jockeys were perky and the hats were as racy as they come at Royal Ascot.

Hats tipped at a rakish angle, taut jackets above spreading jodhpurs and a flower bed of floral prints showed the designer giving his English roses a jaunty sexiness.

The stellar lineup of guests - famous friends rather than ditzy celebrities - included Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who summed up the spirit of the evening when he said: "The exceptional thing about Ralph Lauren is not just that he has done it but done it for 40 years.

Others revealed their first memories, from Sarah Jessica Parker as a young girl in 1977 smelling the "Polo" fragrance, to Ricky Lauren, who, pregnant with their son Andrew, sewed labels on the neckties that started her husband's career.

The roster of fellow designers included Diane von Furstenberg, Carolina Herrera, Donna Karan and Vera Wang, who described the three years she worked with Lauren. "He was always a gentleman," she said. "And he taught me to go on believing in myself."

That is surely Lauren's mantra. He decided at the start of his career "wouldn't it be loverly" if English grace could be given an American polish? He has never deviated from that idea, even if his collections have encompassed inspirations from Navajo Indians, from Paris's Left Bank, from silver screen Hollywood and from the gleaming surfaces of his collection of vintage cars.

But just when you thought the sugar quotient was getting dangerously high, out came a streamlined modern coat in a geometric square cut and riding boots that teamed yellow canvas with patent leather.

On the masculine side, the designer took jodhpurs, which are having a fashion "moment," showing them with small jackets that also came out as snug crested blazers…it expressed the designer's spirit and contained a few surprises, like the horsy and jockey prints that had a touch of Hermès.

Is Lauren, 67, pondering his retirement?”

"No! No! No! No!" said the silver-haired designer. "No thoughts of it at all."