Milan fashion's TikTok conundrum – The New York Times

At Ralph Lauren's season presentation in Milan last June, the audience was younger, look-awesome, and TikToky than usual.

And after more than 55 years in business, the house built by Ralph seemed to be on the verge of unexpected popularity on TikTok, the app favored by Gen Z. In recent years, users have been hailing Ralph Lauren as part of the old money trend. This is a simplification of the wealthy aesthetic, which interprets wealthy clothing as dressing like Chevy Chase's character from “Caddyshack.”

Whatever inspired young people to turn back to tucked polo shirts and pleated khakis, Ralph Lauren reaped the benefits. In the days leading up to Men's Fashion Week in Milan, I received a news release from resale platform StockX revealing that Polo Ralph Lauren sales on the site had increased by 600 percent in 2024. It attributed this increase to the “emergence of Ralphcore.” “A new generation of consumers is embracing and even redefining what labels mean.''

But the audience at the latest launch of Lauren's Sweet Purple Label line on Saturday had a more business-oriented, more establishment feel. The palace's cream-carpeted rooms were filled with leather-jacketed editors and turtlenecked department store buyers, not mustachioed TikTokers in their 20s and 30s capturing content.

Did the company distance itself from TikTokers just before the app's impending ban? Probably so. (Notably, the presentation, which the company touted as a “press day,” came the day before TikTok was scheduled to be suspended for U.S. users.)

But there was also a pleasing symmetry between the guest list and the subdued collection of the label's classic hits. Close your eyes and think of the name Ralph Lauren, and you'll see just about everything on offer: a double-breasted glen-check suit, an olive green hoodie, a chunky British overcoat, a roll-neck sweater, a Fair Isle ski cardigan. You can think of items.

Some standout pieces, like an Italian suede blazer with woven lapels, show a maturity far beyond its TikTok days. Overall, this collection was a reminder that Ralph never has to chase. If the brand can make nice sweaters and reliable coats, shoppers will come, whether it's TikTok or whatever ephemeral app it comes up with next.

Lauren's line wasn't the only one where Ralph's core attributes rose. At Philipp Plein's runway show at the soon-to-open Plein Hotel, with its chandeliers and black marble cathedrals with a Miami strip-club sensibility, Mr. Plein delivered what can only be described as his version of the famous club. I did. Polo Bear Sweater: A trio of knits depicting a cute bear dressed as a bellboy, a bather in a cabana shirt, and a gentleman in a tuxedo.

These sweaters were just at the end of the Ralph Lauren comparisons. If Mr. Lauren's label is a “Great Gatsby'' vision of men's wear, Mr. Plain's is more like “Grand Theft Auto.'' His collection featured a crystal-encrusted blazer (worn shirtless, natch), distressed jeans, and a duffel bag slathered in a distortion of the Budweiser logo that reads “Plein” .

Although this particular show was less of the camera-aggressive mess of some of Mr. Plein's previous presentations (after all, he did pepper the runway with jet skis, robots, and Mad Max monster trucks) designer), but he was still very thorough in his work. A performance by rapper French Montana wearing a studded plain leather jacket. Of course, the performance was posted to TikTok by the next morning.

Earlier in the day, the atmosphere was much calmer at Brunello Cucinelli's presentation, Italy's Cashmere Commandant. Brunello Cucinelli's label, like Lauren, is being hailed as the new money staple on TikTok.

When asked about trends, Mr. Cucinelli, who has been called the Plato of pleated pants, avoids direct answers and instead offers philosophical answers. “I was born into a peasant family and now I'm rich, but my life hasn't changed at all,” he said. “I can spend my time with old money and befriend people who don't have that kind of money.”

His clothes are for men who have that much money. Days before the presentation, the label reported $1.3 billion in revenue last year, an increase of more than 12 percent. And currently, 37 percent of the company's business revenue is generated in the United States.

“If Americans don't appreciate the collection, that's a bummer for you,” he said. “Americans have to like it.”

So what is Mr. Cucinelli selling to American shoppers? This season, sly cloud-like gray shearling jackets, denim-like double-breasted blazers, and ruby ​​red dinner jackets with satin lapels seem tailored for Lunar New Year parties.

After the presentation, I walked through a three-level deep tunnel filled with young people, most of them young women, waiting outside the building's stone archway. They were expecting the arrival of Chinese actor Li Yun Rui, but that name didn't ring any bells for the American press corps.

Then he appeared, Mr. Cucinelli went out and hugged him, and there was a scream and the phone went through. TikTok or not, brands always find a way to get noticed.