The appeal of a Ralph Lauren Christmas isn’t about newness, it’s about creating a space that feels lived-in, storied, and designed to last
Ralph Lauren
There are Christmas trends, and then there are Christmas mood-shifters. Every so often, a single brand captures the cultural moment so completely that the season starts to feel filtered through its lens. This year, that brand is Ralph Lauren.
Across TikTok, in the lifestyle pages, and on the shelves of retailers from London to Los Angeles, the Ralph Lauren “look” has quietly, and powerfully, become the dominant festive aesthetic. The moody tartans, the deep burgundies, the hunter greens, the brass accents, the equestrian flourishes, the soft lighting and lodge-like layers… suddenly, everyone is recreating their own version of a ‘Ralph Lauren Christmas’.
And the momentum hasn’t come from the brand shouting the loudest; it has come from consumers who have decided, almost collectively, that this is the Christmas they want to inhabit.
What fascinates me is the “why”.
Why the Idea of “Timelessness” Matters This Year
There’s a reason this aesthetic resonates so deeply right now, consumers aren’t decorating rooms, they’re building a sense of calm in a chaotic year.
Ralph Lauren
Part of the real appeal behind a Ralph Lauren Christmas and the reason it stands in such stark contrast to many of the fast-moving trends we see online is its sense of timelessness. It’s not a look built on novelty or disposable décor. It’s a visual language that feels lived-in, layered, and emotionally anchored. And when I speak to consumers, that’s exactly what they tell me they’re craving.
There’s a behavioural truth underneath this. We know from decades of consumer psychology that people attach deeper meaning to objects that feel as though they hold a story. The endowment effect teaches us that the moment we believe something belongs within “our world,” we value it more highly and that’s what this aesthetic does so effectively. The aged brass, the vintage tartans, the deep burgundies and forest greens; they mimic the cues of heirlooms, the pieces that live in family photographs, the decorations passed down through generations. It’s as warm and comforting as a Home Alone movie.
In uncertain times, the brain reads these cues as stability and continuity. And we are living through one of the most unsettled consumer climates in recent memory. So it makes perfect sense that we would reach for an aesthetic that signals longevity rather than yet another trend to keep up with.
The Data Mirrors That Emotional Pull
Pinterest’s Holiday 2025 search report shows searches for heritage Christmas, traditional tartan décor, and vintage lodge interiors rising by 48–70% year-on-year. TikTok videos tagged #RalphLaurenChristmas have grown by more than 300% in views in the last three months alone. This isn’t just admiration, it is action and adoption.
And it echoes an echo I see time and again in my research: consumers don’t buy products, they buy feelings. And this year, the feeling they want most is permanence.
The Rise Of A Very Specific Nostalgia
Nostalgia may be the most potent force in retail and Christmas is when it reaches its annual peak. But 2025’s nostalgia is different: it’s not whimsical, pastel-hued or steeped in childhood tropes. It’s grounded, sophisticated, and distinctly grown-up.
Consumers are tired. Economic uncertainty, rising costs, political tension, and digital acceleration have made this one of the most emotionally overloaded periods in modern retail. In moments like this, people don’t just shop for Christmas; they construct a sanctuary.
Ralph Lauren’s world: the firesides, the leather-bound books, the weight of woollen blankets, the soft glow of candlelight is a sanctuary consumers can step into with one purchase – and perhaps not even from the brand itself. It’s highly evocative without being sentimental, and that balance is incredibly difficult to achieve.
It’s why TikTok creators aren’t simply showing décor; they’re staging scenes. They’re recreating the “Ralph Lauren room,” layering textures, colours, materials and sound to tap into something that feels both reassuring and aspirational.
Color As An Emotional Code
If you track festive color trends through the decades, each era has its palette. Pastels. Scandi minimalism. Silver-and-white. The blush pinks and coppers that defined the early 2020s. Christmas 2025 belongs to deep, heritage color and Ralph Lauren sits at the centre of that shift.
Burgundy, once considered heavy (even dated) has emerged as the season’s signature shade. In Ralph Lauren’s universe, burgundy isn’t old-fashioned; it’s comforting, intimate, and cinematic. Paired with forest greens and antique golds, it feels rooted in place and history and is exactly what consumers are seeking.
This is a colour story that retailers have quickly embraced, but its emotional resonance was set by consumers long before the buying teams caught up.
The Power Of Total Lifestyle Storytelling
Perfect in Plaid: Heritage tones like burgundy and forest green aren’t just colours; they’re emotional signals that tell the brain: you’re home, you’re safe, you can exhale.
Ralph Lauren
What Ralph Lauren mastered years ago and what many brands still struggle to replicate is the art of total lifestyle curation.
The brand doesn’t sell clothing or homeware in isolation; it sells an entire world. The room, the outfit, the fragrance, the dinner setting, all telling one cohesive story.
At Christmas, this becomes a commercial superpower. Consumers aren’t buying isolated items; they’re building an environment. And Ralph Lauren’s aesthetic gives them a fully formed blueprint. It’s the closest thing retail has to a ready-made emotional ecosystem.
It is no surprise to me that retailers across the price spectrum, from premium department stores to mass-market chains are now releasing “Ralph Lauren-inspired” Christmas edits. The brand has become shorthand for a festive mood that feels considered, cohesive, and undeniably comforting.
Aspiration With Accessibility
Another critical factor in this moment: you don’t need to spend Ralph Lauren money to achieve a Ralph Lauren feeling.
Decorators are recreating the look with high-street and online alternatives from Amazon, TEMU and Home Goods. A tartan cushion here, a velvet ribbon there, a cluster of brass candlesticks, a cable-knit throw, the aesthetic is highly replicable, and consumers appreciate that.
This positions the Ralph Lauren Christmas as an accessible aspiration: elevated enough to feel special but flexible enough to meet a wide range of budgets. In an era of pressured spending, it is one of the few festive styles that offers both sophistication and scalability.
So Has Ralph Lauren “Won” Christmas 2025?
In many ways it seems so, yes. Yet many other brands will benefit financially is the reacted to the trend at speed.
The brand has done something incredibly rare: it has become the emotional reference point for the season. Retailers are following its palette. Creators are recreating its rooms. Editorial teams are naming the trend after it. Consumers are gravitating toward it instinctively, not because they were told to, but because the aesthetic meets a very real need.
This year, people don’t want novelty. They want something that feels enduring.
They want Christmas to feel like the one part of the year that doesn’t change.
So if it looks like Ralph Lauren has “won” Christmas 2025, it’s because the brand isn’t just shaping how homes look, it’s shaping how people want to feel. And in retail, that’s the most powerful win of all.