Ralph Lauren brings Wild West to NY Fashion Week

Ralph Lauren brought all the glamour that the Wild West probably never had to the runway on the final day of Spring-Summer 2011 New York Fashion Week.

The always influential Ralph Lauren show Thursday was a must for an army of fashion editors and buyers from Europe, Japan and Russia, not to mention representatives from big luxury clothing chains like Sak's, Bergdorf Goodman and Bloomingdale's. The most American of designers did not disappoint. His Western-cum-Victorian theme made a fantasy world out of Indians and pioneers with stylish squaws in tasseled white leather jackets and long fringed white skirts. They wore silver around their necks, often with dog collar necklaces, and crystals and turquoise encrusted on the buckles of their big leather belts. White dresses had the faded look that might come with a very elegant version of frontier life, complete with Victorian-era high necks and lace. And the fringes never stopped, adorning everything from ivory shirts to silvered dresses. The designer, who turns 71 in October, won an ovation from his many admirers as he appeared at the end of the show in leather trousers and white shirt.APF