Ralph Lauren stays closer to home this time with intimate Manhattan gallery show

NEW YORK (AP) — Ralph Lauren, known for staging elaborate runway shows in sumptuous settings like the horsey Hamptons or amid his vintage car collection, took it down a notch for a more intimate show Thursday in a Manhattan gallery space.

As celebrities like Anne Hathaway, Michelle Williams, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ariana DeBose and many others watched from the front row, Lauren presented a fall collection dubbed “The Modern Romantics,” heavy on high ruffled necks, classics like buttery leather in everything from aviator jackets to bustiers, and soft cashmere. Evening looks were long and lacy.

Lauren’s models first appeared atop a balcony, then each descended a grand staircase to walk the runway. The venue, now the Jack Shainman Gallery, was built in 1898 in the Italian Renaissance Revival style.

For the New York-based crowd, it was much less of a journey than Lauren’s last show in the Hamptons on Long Island, which took some guests four hours from Manhattan in busy traffic.

Lauren himself appeared at the end of the show to wave — from the top of the balcony.

Lauren said he was celebrating “The Modern Romantics,” an aesthetic he described as “self-assured and unbound by rules.”

Strutting the runway, the models displayed looks that began with a classic Lauren combination of black trousers, a high-necked ruffled white shirt, and an aviator jacket in brown distressed leather.

That was followed by a filmy white midi-dress paired with a thick black leather belt, and tall black leather boots.

A black leather bustier was paired with a long camel wool skirt, and white lacy ruffled shirts popped up in different ensembles — with a long camel coat, or a puffy brown cardigan. There were also white lace neckties. There were velvet jackets, including in a deep shade of purple.

Outfits segued into evening with long, silky or strappy gowns, one in a white crochet theme, another in sumptuous black lace. There was a black halter gown in tiers of ruffles spiraling around the body.

Hathaway, Williams and Watts sat together in the front row, each in a Lauren-style trench or wrap coat. Hathaway, her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail, paired her coat with a pair of tan-colored jeans, embroidered with sequins and strategically shredded.

DeBose wore a smart gray suit that would go perfectly with next month’s Met Gala dress code: “Tailored For You.” Louis-Dreyfus wore a cropped leather jacket in light brown, with white trousers.

Also attending were Sadie Sink, Sarah Catherine Hook, Eiza Gonzalez, Andra Day, Kacey Musgraves and Ella Hunt, among others.

“I thought it was very much his sensibility and what he believes,” Anna Wintour, the influential Vogue editor, said after the show, noting that Lauren’s fashion transcended trends. “He’s a designer that never looks to the left or to the right. He’s just very clear in what he wants to say and what his customer wants, and that’s one of the reasons he’s so unbelievably successful.”

Sarah Catherine Hook, who appeared in the recently concluded third season of “The White Lotus," said she liked the collection’s ephemeral feel.

“I love anything timeless and I feel like this is the most timeless you could possibly get," Hook said. “I love the masculine-feminine mix of it and this is my first time getting to wear a necktie, so I’m feeling pretty chic today.”

Sarah Catherine Hook arrives at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Ariana DeBose arrives at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Michelle Williams arrives at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Anne Hathaway arrives at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Eiza Gonzalez arrives at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Models walk the runway at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

A model walks the runway at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Ralph Lauren greets the audience at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Models walk the runway at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Models pose at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Models pose at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Models walk the runway at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Models walk the runway at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

A model walks the runway at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Ralph Lauren greets the audience at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Georgia Fowler arrives at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus arrives at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

A model walks the runway at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

A model walks the runway as Anna Wintour, right, looks on at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

A model walks the runway at the Ralph Lauren Fall 2025 presentation on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

ALEPPO, Syria (AP) — First responders on Sunday entered a contested neighborhood in Syria’ s northern city of Aleppo after days of deadly clashes between government forces and Kurdish-led forces. Syrian state media said the military was deployed in large numbers.

The clashes broke out Tuesday in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid after the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main Kurdish-led force in the country, failed to make progress on how to merge the SDF into the national army. Security forces captured Achrafieh and Bani Zaid.

The fighting between the two sides was the most intense since the fall of then-President Bashar Assad to insurgents in December 2024. At least 23 people were killed in five days of clashes and more than 140,000 were displaced amid shelling and drone strikes.

The U.S.-backed SDF, which have played a key role in combating the Islamic State group in large swaths of eastern Syria, are the largest force yet to be absorbed into Syria's national army. Some of the factions that make up the army, however, were previously Turkish-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.

The Kurdish fighters have now evacuated from the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood to northeastern Syria, which is under the control of the SDF. However, they said in a statement they will continue to fight now that the wounded and civilians have been evacuated, in what they called a “partial ceasefire.”

The neighborhood appeared calm Sunday. The United Nations said it was trying to dispatch more convoys to the neighborhoods with food, fuel, blankets and other urgent supplies.

Government security forces brought journalists to tour the devastated area, showing them the damaged Khalid al-Fajer Hospital and a military position belonging to the SDF’s security forces that government forces had targeted.

The SDF statement accused the government of targeting the hospital “dozens of times” before patients were evacuated. Damascus accused the Kurdish-led group of using the hospital and other civilian facilities as military positions.

On one street, Syrian Red Crescent first responders spoke to a resident surrounded by charred cars and badly damaged residential buildings.

Some residents told The Associated Press that SDF forces did not allow their cars through checkpoints to leave.

“We lived a night of horror. I still cannot believe that I am right here standing on my own two feet,” said Ahmad Shaikho. “So far the situation has been calm. There hasn’t been any gunfire.”

Syrian Civil Defense first responders have been disarming improvised mines that they say were left by the Kurdish forces as booby traps.

Residents who fled are not being allowed back into the neighborhood until all the mines are cleared. Some were reminded of the displacement during Syria’s long civil war.

“I want to go back to my home, I beg you,” said Hoda Alnasiri.

Associated Press journalist Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

Sandbag barriers used as fighting positions by Kurdish fighters, left inside a destroyed mosque in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Burned vehicles at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

People flee the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

A Syrian military police convoy enters the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Burned vehicles and ammunitions left at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)