We’re living in a moment of small victories,and surely photographer Tyler Mitchell [IG] feels great pride — and his family even moreso — over Mitchell shooting the Ralph Lauren [IG] Pre-Fall 2025 Campaign. Ralph Lauren — and especially Ralph Lauren Polo — carries great symbolism and respect in the Black community.

Many young men respect Ralph Lauren as the Bronx boy who made good and truly achieved the American dream — without much help.

I’ve mentioned my three young men Trump voters — White, Latino and Black [the three amigos] — who revere Ralph and keep me grounded in the complexities of progressive ideas. It was when they saw Ralph’s latest big design book in my living room, that they felt comfortable admitting that they voted for Trump because they want to be entrepreneurs and big success stories like him.

My explaining that I’m a Democrat and absolutely an entrepreneur didn’t get me very far. “You’re the exception, dear Anne,” represents their pov about Democrats valuing businesses like Ralph’s, which is not the local barber shop.

However, Ralph started out as a very small potato in New York City and his success is so very inspiring to these young men.

Back to Tyler Mitchell’s campaign images for Ralph Lauren Pre-Fall 2025, models Bibi Breslin and Chen Yang joined Mitchell, working with Ralph Lauren Creative Director Andrew Young [IG].

Ralph Lauren 2024/25 Business Results

The top leadership got big raises coming off an excellent 2024 performance that resulted in a 16.8 percent increase in the stock price for the year ending March 31. As WWD points out, those paydays are linked to overall company performance.

Since March 31, the stock has risen another 20 percent — in our insane financial markets world.

Words of wisdom from Ralph Lauren, executive chairman and chief creative officer, and Patrice Louvet, president and chief executive officer:

"As we completed the third and final year of our 'Next Great Chapter: Accelerate' strategic plan, Ralph Lauren delivered on all key commitments and is in a position of strength -- consumers across generations and cultures are connecting deeply with our iconic brand, timeless products and elevated experiences around the world. . . Our progress is rooted in our purpose -- to inspire the dream of a better life through authenticity and timeless style -- which guides our teams every day...
In a complex global operating environment, we are in a position of strength. We have proven resilience in our business model and remain focused on the opportunities across our brands, categories, channels and geographies to deliver long-term growth and value creation for the years to come."

Ralph Lauren’s Strong in China

Like Hermès, Brunello Cucinelli, and Prada, Ralph Lauren’s Asia business is very strong.

In China — most brands major headache — Ralph Lauren saw 20 percent growth in China in their 4th quarter, which AOC assumes is January-March 2025. The brand attributed its performance in China to high-quality new customer recruitment and key marketing moments such as its Lunar New Year campaign.

Asked by financial analysts about moving towards 2026, Louvet responded that they have no signs yet of a slowdown but it seems inevitable, especially with the tarriffs looming over every financial plan.

Louvet then affirmed what I believe is a fundamental issue in interpreting the luxury landscape in China. I’ve said consistently that Gucci and Alessandro Michele misread the problem in China, which centered on Gucci’s visually-expressed marketing values, imo.

Gucci really pushed the envelope in China. What works in Rome or much of Western culture became heresy in China.

Note, I’m not saying there are no economic challenges in China tied directly to national economic performance and the discretionary income available to Chinese consumers.

But just as trans activists pressed the public face of trans rights with lightening bolt precision and disregard for people even like myself — who was thunderstruck to learn that the word woman had been written out of one Biden healthcare policy after another — Gucci led the way in what the Chinese government perceived as undermining the values of the nation.

Gucci’s solutions to the problem have been mindboggling — and we may not be done yet, in my humble opinion.

By contrast, Ralph Lauren has made major personal changes as a leader over the years — for which AOC has celebrated him. Ralph Lauren’s brand discretion is as quiet as his luxury design mantra.

Louvet has definite opinions about why the business is strong in China:

It’s important to keep in mind that Ralph founded this company on values that are pretty universal: optimism, authenticity, timelessness, elegance, family. Those are globally relevant and are resonating wherever we play, including markets where you might be concerned about anti-American sentiment.

AOC is one of the few websites with enough moxie to raise this delicate topic. But when we look at brand messages that resonate universally, the Ralph Lauren team celebrates values that join us. No one articulates humanist values like Brunello Cucinelli, but Ralph is way up there delivering major marketing changes but without a visual bullhorn.

After past footdragging and resistance he will admit to having because he resented the challenges to what he already believed existed in his Ralph Lauren brand DNA, this inspiring man has become Saint Ralph. Not Cucinelli — because there’s only one Brunello — but Ralph Lauren is way up there on the list of brands and brand founders we collective humans around the world can and do celebrate.

Including my three amigos. ~ Anne