The world of men’s fashion has taken over Milan and Paris this month as part of the biannual Men’s Fashion Week, where brands and designers show off their styles for next spring and summer in a series of fashion shows and presentations. To mark the start of Milan Fashion Week, Ralph Lauren and Esquire hosted a star-studded, yet intimate dinner for 35 guests in the courtyard of the nearly new—and very popular—The Bar at Ralph Lauren in Milan. It was one helluva night.
The heavyweight guest-list included actors Chris Pine, Brandon Sklenar, Damson Idris and Rupert Friend; David Lauren, vice chairman and chief innovation officer of Ralph Lauren, and Michael Sebastian, editor-in-chief of Esquire; tastemakers like Pierce Abernathy and Reese Feldman, as well as a small, hand-picked swathe of men’s fashion A-listers, photographers, and writers. Conversation filled the air, from talk of fashion to films, books, and real-life tales of military service in Afghanistan.
Sebastian said it was the perfect way to kick off the Milan season. “It’s all about the right guest list,” he said. “We love a dinner small enough that you can actually sit, talk, and listen. They are the type of experiences that stay with you. We expect to do many more this year as we celebrate the 90thth anniversary of Esquire.”
The dinner followed Ralph Lauren’s return to Milan after a several-season hiatus. The iconic American brand showed its Spring-Summer 2024 Purple Labels men’s collection on the first night of Milan Men’s Fashion Week. As the temperatures soared into the 90s outside, models padded the striking Casa Campanini Bonomi, an imposing mid-century villa that Lauren bought in 1999, swathed in linens and cottons in the reassuring comfort of the palazzo’s nuclear air-conditioning. Emphasis was on soft sculptural tailoring in natural hues against white or summer brights played against black.
Check out photos of many of the dinner attendees, as well as shots of guests at the Ralph Lauren presentation wearing Spring-Summer 2024 Purple Label.
Chris Pine, David Lauren, and Brandon Sklenar.
David Lauren and Michael Sebastian
Chris Pine.
Brandon Sklenar.
Damson Idris.
Jon Jawns and Pierce Abernathy.
The menu for the evening.
Damson Idris and Nick Wooster.
Reece Feldman.
Nick Wooster.
Riccardo Pozzoli.
Alessandro Squarzi.
Blake Gray.
Nick Sullivan.
Dominik Schutte.
David Lauren.
Michael Sebastian.
