{NM Daily}

Ralph Lauren’s show on the last day of New York Fashion Week was not merely gorgeous; it was a testament to the brand’s protean power. Mr. Lauren has always known how to work a theme, but China — something entirely distant from Americana or prep — is new territory for this collection. Specifically, the show romanticized Shanghai in the Thirties with touches of Chinoiserie, Art Deco, and red and jade within a lustrous, glossy black wardrobe. A heady evening sensibility pervaded all the gowns, les smokings and sumptuous coats. Details celebrated the most refined traditional crafts of China, but in essentially the collection adhered to an American definition of elegance and classic style. These Americans simply seemed more worldly than ever.