The Canadian K-pop star flaunted the quintessential menswear wardrobe to attend his first Polo Ralph Lauren front row.
Men’s Milan Fashion Week kicked off on January 16, with one of the calendar’s most-awaited shows, Polo Ralph Lauren’s return to the city’s official program. Canadian singer Mark Lee, a newcomer in the Milan Fashion Week circuit, doubled down on traditional menswear for the occasion.
Embracing the classics for the front row
Stepping out in Via San Barnaba to attend the Polo Ralph Lauren Fall/Winter 2026 collection unveiling, K-pop star Mark Lee borrowed a page from the book of Pitti Uomo peacocks. The singer, an ambassador for the American brand, played with stripe patterns, combining staples of the well-suited man: a blue striped shirt, a double breasted coat and a slim fit navy pinstripe suit—if you were wondering if 2016 is really back, Lee’s look is probably an indicator that fashion is indeed going back to the times where menswear thrived on the classics with a fun twist.
Going by the traditional men’s fashion playbook, Lee completed his front row ‘fit with a striped tie and black dress boots. As for beauty, the star departed from his classic Korean heartthrob hairstyle, opting for a polished but subtle perm. Lee’s overall look fit right into the Polo Ralph Lauren front row, where he shared the spotlight with A-listers such as Nick Jonas, Colman Domingo and Tom Hiddleston, as well as Hong Kong cinema icon Tony Leung.
Winter Essentials Revamped
Prior to the show, the Canadian star took to the streets of the city, flaunting a monochrome ensemble that thrived on the combination of winter staples and soft tailoring. The look, posted on Polo Ralph Lauren’s official social media accounts, featured a blue shirt with the collar peaking under a chunky turtleneck. Acing layering formulas, Lee complemented the outfit with a gray pinstripe jacket and a Herringbone coat cinched at the waist.
With Milan’s decreasing temperatures bringing gray skies, the perfect accessory to top off the ensemble was a plaid scarf.
Solidifying a Long-time Association with Ralph Lauren
Although Lee boasts a tight relationship with Ralph Lauren, the FW26 show marked his first time on a Fashion Week front row. The occasion was timely, with Polo Ralph Lauren returning to the Milan calendar after more or less 20 years of absence. Ralph Lauren’s Purple Label and Palazzo collection, however, regularly show in the city; the most recent occasion being the Purple Label SS26 collection, attended by stars such as Kim Woo-bin and Dean Fujioka.
Mark Lee began his association with the American lifestyle brand in 2022, with an ambassadorship appointment. Since then, Lee has delivered plenty of buzzworthy moments with Ralph Lauren. In 2024, the NCT star set a precedent for K-pop stars attending The Championships Wimbledon, where he emerged as one of the top celebrities driving impact through their social media accounts. According to data by Launchmetrics, the singer generated $1.3 million in Media Impact Value—Launchmetrics’ proprietary-machine algorithm measuring the impact of brand activity and marketing performance—through posts on NCT’s official media channels.
In 2025, the singer authored 6 out of the 10 top celebrity placements for Ralph Lauren, accruing more than$1 million in Media Impact Value per post. A standout event was his attendance at the Australian Open, where Ralph Lauren serves as the official outfitter.
