Ralph Lauren Celebrated His Very Ralph Documentary With a Grand Premiere That Was...Very Ralph

“It’s hard to pin you down, Ralph, there is not one adjective or 10 adjectives, for that matter, to properly describe all that you represent,” mused Audrey Hepburn as she presented Ralph Lauren with the first-ever CFDA lifetime achievement award in 1992. “It’s staggering, you’ve not only created a total concept of fashion and style, but by your consistency and integrity you’ve protected it, always reminding us of the best things in life.” These kind, real, and moving words are the opening scene of the HBO documentary film Very Ralph, directed and produced by the award-winning Susan Lacy.

Lauren celebrated the premiere of his film at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with his wife, Ricky, and kids, Andrew, David, and Dylan, by his side. Fellow fashion folk, many of whom were featured subjects in the film (like Tyson Beckford, Tom Brokaw, Richard Cohen, Karlie Kloss, Donna Karan, Martha Stewart, Judith Thurman, Bruce Springsteen, Tory Burch, Ansel Elgort, Jason Wu, and Anna Wintour), were also in attendance last night.

“Ralph is such an icon, I mean truly the definition of the word,” Kloss gleamed. “He’s had such an impact on so many people, and I couldn’t be more inspired by him as a person.” After the screening, guests gathered in the Temple of Dendur for a well-deserved feast of Lauren’s all-time favorites: overflowing seafood towers, cheeseburger sliders, mini lobster rolls, crudité bites, smoked salmon, and countless bottles of Veuve Clicquot. Autumnal bouquets offered some seasonal foliage among the illuminated ancient Egyptian ruins, and of course Frank Sinatra’s timeless tunes provided the perfect soundtrack for the spectacular evening.

From the Bronx to Bloomingdale’s, Lauren paved his own way from local tie maker to luxury lifestyle creator. Through it all, Lauren’s unwavering confidence in himself and others proves to be the driving force behind his paramount success: a man so deeply in touch with his intuition and steadfast in the curation of a beautiful life, the Ralph life. “I’ve always had a philosophy about being true to yourself and to stand up for who you want to be without giving up,” Lauren exclaimed.

While Lauren’s collections exude a lifestyle of limitless Americana glamour, Lauren tended to keep his personal life private, until now. “When I first saw the film, it choked me up a little, especially seeing my kids,” Lauren confessed. “It’s not always the clothes, it’s more about how you think and how you live your life.”

Portraying Lauren’s extraordinary life in a 108-minute film was no easy feat, one that relied heavily on the trusting relationship between Lacy and Lauren. “We spoke the same language,” Lacy explained. “He has a very cinematic approach to things.”

The attendees left the room inspired to not only chase but also to reach their dreams. As close friend and fellow fashion designer Donna Karan put it, “God bless Ralph!”