Alfredo Paredes: The Man Who Gave Ralph Lauren Its Rooms
For more than three decades, Alfredo Paredes shaped one of the most influential lifestyle aesthetics of the modern era. He joined Ralph Lauren in the mid-1980s and went on to spend 33 years defining how the brand translated its world into spaces: stores, homes, restaurants, and environments that felt less designed than inherited.
In design circles, he’s often described (affectionately) as the most well-known unknown designer: a creative force whose work you recognize instantly, even if you’ve never learned his name.
You know his rooms. You’ve felt them. You just may not have known who made them.
Learning the language of home: Laura Ashley and early retail years
Paredes’ instinct for warmth and familiarity didn’t come from theory. It came from practice. He began his career at Laura Ashley, immersed in a world where home was the narrative, not an afterthought.
There, he learned something essential: interiors are emotional systems. Fabric, lighting, and placement don’t decorate a space, they suggest a life unfolding inside it. His later experience at Britches of Georgetown sharpened that instinct within retail, teaching him how atmosphere could shape perception.
This early training explains why Paredes never treats a room as a blank canvas. His spaces always feel mid-story.
Thirty-three years at Ralph Lauren: When retail became world-building
At Ralph Lauren, Paredes’ role extended far beyond store design. He became a key creative force behind the brand’s environments worldwide and led the Ralph Lauren Home Design Studio, helping define the physical language of the brand across decades and continents.
His achievement wasn’t repetition, it was coherence. Ranch, townhouse, club, retreat: each space felt distinct, yet unmistakably part of the same universe. Retail became immersive without feeling theatrical while luxury became emotional rather than declarative.
Our favorite projects that define his world
Hospitality & Restaurants
The Polo Bar, New York
Often considered the purest expression of the Ralph Lauren universe: clubby, wood-lined, equestrian, cinematic and deeply human.
Polo Bar NYC Coat Check
Polo Bar NYC Dining Room
Fireplace in the dining room at Polo Bar NYC
Ralph’s, Paris
Indoor and terrace dining that translates American ease into a Parisian rhythm: sun-washed, relaxed, timeless.
Ralph’s Terrace in Paris
Ralph’s Restaurant in Paris
Sailor, Fort Greene
A more intimate expression of his language: neighborhood-driven, warm, and unforced.
Exterior of Sailor Restaurant by Alfredo Paredes
Sailor Bar by Alfredo Paredes
Sailor Bar with Nautical Decor
Retail
RRL Bleecker Street
RRL East Hampton
RRL front shop at Bleecker Street
RRL Bleecker Street Interior
The incredible entrance of RRL East Hampton
Both spaces feel less like stores and more like well-kept houses with objects arranged as if they’ve always belonged together.
Residential
Montauk retreat
Canadian lake house
The Montauk Retreat
The Montauk Living Room
The Montauk Retreat garden
Canadian Lake House who belongs to Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber
In these homes, his philosophy becomes most personal: layered materials, softened lines, and rooms that privilege comfort over spectacle.
“I Want a House to Feel Lived In”
Paredes’ entire approach can be summed up in one sentence:
“I want a house to feel lived in. Empty rooms aren’t that exciting.”
That belief explains why his work feels familiar and why it’s so difficult to replicate. His interiors are unperfectly perfect: deeply controlled, yet never rigid. Objects look kept, not styled. Patina feels earned. Nothing performs. Luxury, here, is restraint.
A New Chapter: Book, Studio, and Hudson
After leaving Ralph Lauren in 2018, Alfredo Paredes began shaping a more personal chapter of his career without abandoning the discretion that defines his work.
The Book
Alfredi Paredes: At Home — Rizzoli
His monograph, Alfredo Paredes at Home, published by Rizzoli, offers an intimate look into the spaces and references that shaped his eye. It’s less about finished rooms than lived atmospheres.
A World That Finally Bears His Name
With the opening of his Hudson store, Alfredo Paredes brings his universe full circle. After decades of shaping spaces for others, often invisibly, he now offers a place that reflects his vision in its purest form. Not louder. Not different. Simply more personal.
In a time obsessed with novelty, Alfredo Paredes reminds us that the most powerful interiors are built slowly through memory, restraint, and care. Spaces that feel familiar, not because they imitate the past, but because they understand it.
And perhaps that’s the ultimate luxury he’s always designed for: rooms that don’t ask for attention…only time.
