Ralph Lauren proves the American dream still sells at New York fashion week

Designer mixes burnt-out velvet and shredded denim with a mythology that keeps getting more profitableThe opening show of fashion’s month of catwalks was not on the official schedule, but Viola Davis and Cynthia Erivo were snuggled on to celebrity-packed benches in a cathedral-sized marble hall where tapestry-hung walls and a gilded coffered ceiling framed a view over lower Manhattan.Ralph Lauren, who is 86, took his bow at the end of this show casually dressed in a varsity jacket spelling out New York. In an industry obsessed with youth and novelty, Lauren is more relevant than ever in his ninth decade.