Over the years, Ralph Lauren has often found inspiration in the incomparable Italian fishing village of Portofino. A tiny, millennia-old hamlet of about 500 permanent residents, it’s one of the most exquisite places on Earth, a haven for sophisticated travelers since long before English author Elizabeth von Arnim set her novel about vacationing Englishwomen, The Enchanted April, there in 1922. (The book—and later, its 1992 film adaptation—did set off a sort of Portofino-mania among the gentry, however. And notables from the Duke of Windsor to Aristotle Onassis have stayed at Portofino’s opulent—and aptly named—Splendido hotel.)
The village’s signature rustic beauty and seaside charm are woven throughout Ralph Lauren’s latest Purple Label collection, which includes vividly colorful sweaters and trousers and bold swimwear made from Italian nylon, as well as impossibly elegant suits and a swirling, dazzling print dubbed “Portofino Paisley.”
Explore an edited selection from the Spring 2016 Purple Label collection below, but before you do, take a tour through Scott Rudin’s spectacular photographs of Portofino, captured—on film—during a recent trip to the village.
- Photographs by Scott Rudin
