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Ralph Lauren claims third Menswear Designer of the Year at CFDA Awards

The American designer joins an elite circle of CFDA honourees, becoming the only creator to have received the organisation's principal accolades across design, retail and humanitarian categories.

By Jill GrundyTuesday, 3rd of November 20262 min read
Enter the world of Ralph Lauren
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Matt Damon and Tremaine Emory presented American Menswear Designer of the Year to Ralph Lauren at the 2026 CFDA Fashion Awards at the American Museum of Natural History. A camel overcoat of brushed wool, slung across sharp tailoring and a cream cowboy hat, arrives with the gravity of achievement: this is a designer who has defined American elegance across five decades and shows no sign of resting on what others might consider legacy.

Detail of embroidered indigenous-inspired motifs in blue, red and green threads on a tan suede fringe jacket; two men wearing Fair Isle sweaters in red, cream, green and navy with purple and camouflage baseball caps; a man in a bright orange down jacket over patterned fabric

The honour marks Lauren’s third Menswear Designer of the Year award, following wins in 1996 and 2007. That his trajectory encompasses such breadth reveals an uncommon force in fashion. He has also won Womenswear Designer of the Year in 1995 and 2025, placing him among an extraordinarily small group of designers recognised at this level across multiple categories. The reach of his influence extends further still: Ralph Lauren remains the only designer to have received the full constellation of CFDA’s principal accolades, spanning Lifetime Achievement, both menswear and womenswear designer honours, Retailer of the Year, Humanitarian Leadership, American Fashion Legend, and the inaugural Popular Vote award.

Close-up of an embroidered design on tan suede with fringing; detail of a white dress shirt, black bow tie and camel-coloured textured wool overcoat; three men in camel, navy and tan wool coats standing indoors; a man in navy double-breasted jacket with a camel-coloured fur collar and wide gold belt buckle; a man in burgundy and charcoal pinstripe suiting with a moss-green vest

His September 2026 Spring/Summer 2027 presentation offered the reason for this continued recognition. Familiar references to American heritage received a more irreverent treatment, with distressed velvet eveningwear, shredded low slung denim, oversized ties, spray painted brocade gowns and embroidered coats brought an unmistakeable sense of invention to codes that might elsewhere have calcified into mere repetition. The collection proved what his repeated honours affirm: that a designer can remain unmistakably himself whilst refusing to be trapped by his own mythology.

Film still: a man in tailored menswear stands in contemplation
A man in a cream Stetson hat and camel-coloured wool overcoat with a billowed collar over a midnight blue double-breasted dinner jacket, white shirt front and black bow tie, standing before classical green-painted doors with gilt fittings and marble surrounds
A man in a cream Stetson hat and camel-coloured wool overcoat with a billowed collar over a midnight blue double-breasted dinner jacket, white shirt front and black bow tie, standing before classical green-painted doors with gilt fittings and marble surrounds
A man in a cream Stetson hat and camel-coloured wool overcoat with a billowed collar over a midnight blue double-breasted dinner jacket, white shirt front and black bow tie, standing before classical green-painted doors with gilt fittings and marble surrounds
A man in a cream Stetson hat and camel-coloured wool overcoat with a billowed collar over a midnight blue double-breasted dinner jacket, white shirt front and black bow tie, standing before classical green-painted doors with gilt fittings and marble surrounds

Imagery courtesy of Ralph Lauren (@ralphlauren).

Detail of embroidered indigenous-inspired motifs in blue, red and green threads on a tan suede fringe jacket; two men wearing Fair Isle sweaters in red, cream, green and navy with purple and camouflage baseball caps; a man in a bright orange down jacket over patterned fabric
Close-up of an embroidered design on tan suede with fringing; detail of a white dress shirt, black bow tie and camel-coloured textured wool overcoat; three men in camel, navy and tan wool coats standing indoors; a man in navy double-breasted jacket with a camel-coloured fur collar and wide gold belt buckle; a man in burgundy and charcoal pinstripe suiting with a moss-green vest
Film still: a man in tailored menswear stands in contemplation
A man in a cream Stetson hat and camel-coloured wool overcoat with a billowed collar over a midnight blue double-breasted dinner jacket, white shirt front and black bow tie, standing before classical green-painted doors with gilt fittings and marble surrounds
A man in a cream Stetson hat and camel-coloured wool overcoat with a billowed collar over a midnight blue double-breasted dinner jacket, white shirt front and black bow tie, standing before classical green-painted doors with gilt fittings and marble surrounds
A man in a cream Stetson hat and camel-coloured wool overcoat with a billowed collar over a midnight blue double-breasted dinner jacket, white shirt front and black bow tie, standing before classical green-painted doors with gilt fittings and marble surrounds
A man in a cream Stetson hat and camel-coloured wool overcoat with a billowed collar over a midnight blue double-breasted dinner jacket, white shirt front and black bow tie, standing before classical green-painted doors with gilt fittings and marble surrounds

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