Ralph Lauren receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom

On Saturday, America’s commander-in-chief met his commander-in-chief as Ralph Lauren became the first fashion designer to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Dressed in a tweed blazer, a knitted tie and squishy dark sneakers, Mr. Lauren, 85, described in an introduction as “classic yet creative, timeless yet innovative.” He was praised for reminding “us of our distinctive style as a nation of dreamers and doers.”

Established by John F. Kennedy, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor. It has been bestowed on a host of cultural, business and political figures, including Babe Ruth, Mother Teresa, Julia Child, Warren Buffett, John McCain and Rush Limbaugh.

If ever there was a fashion designer worthy of this award, it is Mr. Lauren. A son of the Bronx, Mr. Marketing a preppy image to the upwardly mobile masses, Lauren built his eponymous company into a multimillion-dollar company—one he remains executive chairman and chief creative officer of nearly half a century after he founded it.

The fashion world, which had previously been largely absent from the event, was well represented at the White House on Saturday. With Mr. Lauren receiving the gilded medallion from President Biden was Anna Wintour, a steely Brit (and longtime supporter of democratic causes) who has been Vogue’s editor-in-chief since 1988.

In her introduction, Ms. Wintour, who was dressed in a shin-length plaid coat and ditched her ever-present oversized sunglasses for the occasion, was praised for using “fashion as a mirror to reflect our culture.”

Other recipients on Saturday included Hillary Clinton, Bono, José Andrés, Lionel Messi and George Soros.

Mr. Lauren was joined at the ceremony by his wife of 60 years, Ricky Lauren, dressed in a sleek black suit, and his older brother Jerry Lauren. Also Mr. Lauren’s three children were in attendance: Andrew, David and Dylan.

Born in New York to immigrant parents in 1939, Lauren entered the clothing market in the late 1960s by introducing a line of men’s ties, which he sold out of a drawer in a showroom in the Empire State Building. Soon, Mr. Lauren a holistic shoe-to-suit brand of aspirational prepwear.

The rest is well-trodden fashion history, as Mr. Lauren rode her brand’s pony logo to the heavenly heights of American fashion. In a way, he succeeded by perfecting the building blocks of the all-American look: blue jeans, polo shirts, white T-shirts, flannels and work boots. As Mr. Lauren told the luxury magazine Robb Report in 2023, “I loved things that were American.” His brand’s briskly selling American flag jerseys put an exclamation point on that.

Mr. Lauren expanded the brand into attractive homewares and came to personally embody the aspirational image pushed through his label’s cinematic advertising campaigns. Mr. Lauren’s holdings include a garage full of cars and a sprawling ranch in the Colorado mountains. Dr. Lauren’s oft-photographed home is filled with leather furniture, saddle rugs, and polished wood accents that liven up tableaus of his polished all-American look.

Through his brand, the designer has been a patriotic cheerleader, and if not a friend, at least an acquaintance, to many political figures. For decades, his company has outfitted America’s Olympic teams, dressing athletes in all manner of spangled and striped sportswear. In 2022, during a period of national soul-searching about racial inequality, Ralph Lauren collaborated with Morehouse College and Spelman College, two historically black colleges in Atlanta, for a collection that includes silk wrap dresses and a schoolboy blazer—dressy pieces that defy the look of today’s sweatpants— loving undergrad.

There is a bipartisan appeal to Mr. Lauren’s clothes. Nancy Reagan and Michelle Obama both wore the brand’s designs during their time in the White House. In 2017, Melania Trump wore a cashmere dress from the brand at her husband’s swearing-in. Mr. Lauren’s son, David, married George HW Bush’s granddaughter Lauren in 2011.

Mr. Lauren’s company seems to have a special meaning for the Bidens. Mr. Biden wore a Ralph Lauren overcoat and suit at his inauguration in 2021, while Jill Biden, who has often been photographed in the brand’s designs (including on the cover of Ms. Wintour’s Vogue last year), was a marquee guest at Ralph Lauren’s most recent runway show , held in the Hamptons in September.