Very Ralph

Susan Lacy's 2019 documentary is about the designer Ralph Lauren. He grew up in the Bronx in an immigrant family, began by selling ties and built a brand under his own name. The argument is that what was sold was not clothing. Lauren produced the image of a particular American life; the advertising, the shop design and the shows build that picture, and the narrative says plainly that it is an invention. Lauren speaks for himself, with Anna Wintour and figures from the fashion world of the period appearing. The documentary does not enter questions of labour conditions or the economics of branding and rests largely on praise. Who it's for: those who like fashion history and portraits of brands. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a critical examination; the documentary stands beside its subject.