NEW YORK, Feb 14, 2003/ FW/ --- Ralph Lauren's show on Thursday morning was a sketch of contrasts, as he blended styles worthy of a riding school in the Hamptons with those that could easily be found on a Parisian Haute Couture runway.

From tweed and corduroy to beaded gowns it was a fine collection for Fall / Winter 2003 from one of America's foremost designers.

Contrast, though, is reflective of the world around. By the time the curtain fell on the Lauren show, the US Commander-and-Chief was giddily posing for pictures among Navy enlisted men in Florida, while the NY Times posted his beaming smile beside the Wall Street Ticker, all red, with the headline "Stocks Hit 4 Month Low".

Within 24 hours, Hans Blix bushwhacked plans for recreating Baghdad as Houston-on-the-Tigres by announcing to the United Nations that "no weapons of mass destruction had been detected".

In Washington, the US Attorney General, for some inexplicable reason, felt the need to defend the Administration's judgment to raise the terror alert warning to orange, even though much of the intelligence that contributed to the decision was taken from erroneous sources.

So, Ralph Lauren was quite in line with everything else. His show, which was held in a photography studio in Chelsea, featured a runway stretching before a crude brick wall, while velvet cushions were placed on benches to provide foundation for his guests.

The eclectic collection had it's share of tweed and suede, and featured a particularly interesting combination of brown corduroy riding breeches worn with a mint green, double breasted wool jacket.

A burgundy velvet gown with a lace bodice was paired with matching elbow-length gloves that looked right out of Jackie's White House.

To round it off, a pale champagne beaded gown, neckline plunging, glistened before the brick wall, though it would have been more at home beneath the frescoes of the Hôtel Intercontinental in Paris.

A stunning white satin gown was mysteriously worn with a hooded jacket, lined with fox fur.

The House of Lauren, itself, has recently been in transmutation: the Made In America designer has chosen to show his men's lines in Milan, and the restructuring of the European division has necessitated the relocation of headquarters from Paris to Switzerland, in part to avoid the stifling French tax code.

Who knows, perhaps Ralph will join the other Ralph (Rucci), and show next season at Paris Haute Couture week.

As the French love to say, most especially to the United Nations, wait and see!