Today in Washington, Joe Biden awarded Ralph Lauren the Presidential Medal of Freedom, making him the first fashion designer in history to receive the highest civilian honor. Joined by his wife Ricky, Lauren wore a tweed herringbone blazer, white shirt, knit tie, and navy blue pants. On stage, he sat with the 18 other recipients, including Hillary Clinton, José Andrés, Magic Johnson, Denzel Washington, and Jane Goodall, who carried a stuffed toy gorilla.
Biden opened the ceremony with touching remarks, saying that this group had shaped “the culture and cause of America.” He thanked them and said, “You defend the values of America, even when they’re under attack.”
When Biden presented Lauren with the medal, tears welled up in the designer’s eyes. The master of ceremonies spoke about Lauren’s extraordinary rise to success, his incredible contribution to American fashion and culture, and his prolific philanthropic work. He said, “Ralph Lauren reminds us of our distinct style as a nation of dreamers and doers.”
Indeed, the 84-year-old Lauren has spent his career dissecting and defining what it means to live the fantasy of the American dream. He also wholly embodied it: Lauren began as a young man from the Bronx, a son of Polish immigrants, selling ties in the basement of Rockefeller Center, eventually landing a spot on the shelves at Bloomingdale’s, and later, building, brick by brick and polo by polo, the classic, preppy, nostalgic yet innovative world of Ralph Lauren that we know today.
While Lauren’s vision of the American dream includes leather club chairs, antique cars, and multi-million dollar estates in the Hamptons and Colorado, at its core, it’s about a deeper, more important kind of aspiration. In the cultural space, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is given to those who inspire greatness. Lauren has always challenged us to see the greatness in American life, and to live in that life dressed impeccably, whether in a simple button-down shirt and jeans or a bias-cut gown accessorized with a turquoise and silver belt. Everyone is welcome at Lauren’s doors, and there’s a lot to be said right now for a designer who continues to give us something to look up to in a country that has fallen so deeply and darkly from the dream.
Lauren’s aspiration is about hope and hard work more than it’s about luxury. Yes, he makes and sells clothes and lifestyle products, and yes, many of those things are expensive. But so much of it is deliberately accessible. His creativity has always been about making things to keep a vision alive for as many people as possible. And it’s that great, big, beautiful world of his that makes us feel a sense of freedom and joy—a feeling that’s worth all the medals in the White House.
Brooke Bobb is the fashion news director at Harper’s Bazaar, working across print and digital platforms. Previously, she was a senior content editor at Amazon Fashion, and worked at Vogue Runway as senior fashion news writer.
