Fashion designer Ralph Lauren after presenting his spring collection during Fashion Week in New York in 1989.

Of all the editors, fashion notables, filmmakers and cultural critics who opine on Ralph Lauren in the new documentary "Very Ralph," it's an unlikely voice who perhaps most succinctly describes the appeal of the Lauren empire.

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"What would be my magician's cloak? It was the Polo shirt," West says. "It said that I could travel from the south side of Chicago to the beaches of Montauk."

That shirt was also an important bit of cultural currency for Jason Wu, the Taiwanese-born designer who moved to New York at age 18.

Lauren recently celebrated his label’s 50th birthday, and a new HBO documentary, "Very Ralph," marks the occasion.

Owning it, he says, signified that you were suddenly "part of the club" - meaning part of Lauren's American Dream, a dream that was meant to be rosy and aspirational but also open to anyone.

The title of "Very Ralph," which premieres Tuesday on HBO, is a playful nod to the idea that Lauren, who has been designing for more than a half-century now, is one of the few who merits his own adjective.

But it's a hard adjective to define: Just ask the man himself.

"It's a look," he told The Associated Press in a recent interview, when asked to specify just what "very Ralph" meant to him.

"It could be safari, it could be western, it could be New England, it could be tweed," he added, naming some of his favorite inspirations. "Or it could be a house, where you walk in and say, 'Oh, that's very Ralph.'"

The soft-spoken, 80-year-old designer was sitting in a room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art late last month, reflecting on his career.

"Very Ralph," shows the profile of the man who is the closest thing that America has to a national designer.

A team bustled around him preparing for the film's premiere party in the Temple of Dendur, where the Met Gala is held. And it felt like a mini-Met Gala: standing a few feet from Lauren was his friend Bruce Springsteen.

Lauren replied with a shrug when asked why he thinks he's been able to endure in an industry always obsessed with the next big thing.

"It's just what I do," he said. "It's a timeless thing. I don't love fashion; I love things that look good."

He pointed to his black suit: "I've been wearing this same suit for 25, 30 years. It fits better now.

But my thing isn't about what's in this year, what's out next year. I've built a concept that has a point of view, and a good following."

The film's director, Susan Lacy, would say that's a bit too modest an assessment. The fact that Lauren is still working at the top of his label (though he stepped down as CEO in 2015) is "a remarkable achievement," Lacy says.

"Particularly in the fashion business which is so of-the-moment. Ralph is just still there."

Lauren cooperated with the film but wasn't necessarily eager to spill his life's secrets. "Ralph is not a person given to divulging," Lacy says.

Associated Press