Small in stature he may be, but Ralph Lauren is a giant of the fashion industry. He's as immaculately dressed as you'd imagine, and up close you can't help noticing how his taut, teak-colour skin belies his 71 years. This is a man who works hard and holidays well.
But he has also poured a lot of energy and a chunk of his fortune into building arguably the finest car collection in the world. Seventeen of these cars were on display at Les Arts Décoratifs, in the Louvre in Paris, for all to see (though, alas, the exhibition's now closed). And he's just asked me what I think of them.
This was it, my moment to forage out some majestic anecdote from one of the world's most successful men. "They're, umm, lovely," I offered pathetically. "Well done..."
This philanthropic Parisian showcase was proof that the car - 125 years old this year, give or take a few months - is now officially Art. Curated by Rodolphe Rapetti, the emphasis in the exhibition was firmly on the automobile's Thirties to Sixties golden period, although a McLaren F1 had snuck in.
"This is a concentration of the most significant cars," Rapetti said, explaining his rationale. "Cars are a work of art and not just an object of utility. Of all the things we use every day, the car is the one we most care about, and the one that concentrates the maximum of technology and design, as well as delivering the maximum freedom. The designers of the cars in the period I chose to focus on had much more freedom to express themselves. And the influence of the marketing department was also probably much lower..."
Highlights included key Ferraris - the 250 GTO, a 1958 250 Testa Rossa and a 250 LM - a 1930 Mercedes SSK ‘Count Trossi', an Alfa Romeo 2900 Mille Miglia, various Jaguars including the exquisitely muscular XKSS and, most famously, one of only four Bugatti Type 57 Atlantics ever made.
That's what greeted you as you entered the museum, a flamboyantly Art Deco piece of handcrafted loveliness that loosens your jaw so completely it'll hit the floor. Keep walking, and the experience soon started to feel quasi-religious.
And this was just a smattering. Lauren's full collection numbers 80-odd cars, most of which live in his 48,000sq ft garage in a sprawling 273-acre estate north of New York. One of his vice presidents, Alfredo Paredes, who oversees the wood-panelled opulence of the company's worldwide Polo stores, helped design it. It's incredible.
But so was this exhibition, not least because making it happen must have been a logistical nightmare. The man who literally greases the wheels is Mark Reinwald, Ralph Lauren's long-serving car guy. When the boss calls and requests one of his cars, Mark makes sure it's good to go. How much notice does he get? Forty-eight hours? "It's more like 45 minutes," he smiles. "But they're all road registered, and they all get used. That's why there's still oil dripping out of some of them.
"We're in the country, the roads are great, you can read the corners, so you can really get some speed up. We rotate the cars, and they get used every three or four months. That's the way it's supposed to be. Look closely, and you'll see stone chips, though we do try to keep them looking good. Maybe too good, you know. We're letting the [Blower] Bentley get more patinated."
Reinwald says that Lauren favours the Ferrari 250GT SWB, XKSS and XK120 for regular adventures, and is a spirited driver. "The Type 57 Atlantic is more of an art piece," he adds. "But we can leave it maybe eight months, and it just starts [click fingers] like that. It immediately settles into a perfect idle. Amazing."
Reinwald also has the onerous task of, how can I put this, helping Lauren spend his money. Though the boss started off with a Morgan back in the Sixties and clearly has a yen for the finest classic cars, he's just as acquisitive when it comes to the new stuff.
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