The authentic and timeless world of Ralph Lauren
March 2025
RL/People

THE RL Q&A:Julian Fetterman

How the Detroit-born, Brooklyn-based stylist combines his Midwestern roots and eye for vintage into a one-of-a-kind personal style
Julian Fetterman may only be 27, but his wardrobe is woven with decades of style. The Detroit-born stylist and vintage Ralph Lauren collector has long had a sharp eye for the kind of well-worn, laid-back, and lived-in style that Ralph himself has espoused through nearly 60 years of design. And like Ralph, Julian’s personal style is rooted in all things Americana, mixed up in all kinds of ways: Western belts, turquoise jewelry, frayed-hem cargo pants, beat-up barn jackets, and flannel shirts in every stripe and style. How it all comes together, though, is what sets him apart. Steeped in the 2000s and 2010s style of the malls he grew up shopping in, Julian finds a unique line of nostalgia in both his professional work and his personal style: Oversize, easygoing, and well-loved clothes that are from the past but will last forever. Here, he wears some of his favorite pieces in one of his favorite places, Inga’s Bar in Brooklyn Heights, where one year ago Julian and his wife celebrated their wedding reception. The groom, naturally, wore Ralph Lauren.

—Andrew Craig

Tell me about your style journey. How did you get into collecting clothes?

I moved to New York about 10 years ago to study at the Parsons School of Design, and while I was there, I got really into buying and selling clothes. It was something I had been doing since middle school, really—buying what was trending and flipping it, just so I could afford to buy the clothes that I really wanted. But when I moved to New York, it became more than a hobby. I started working for Grailed as an intern, and that’s when I really got into collecting as a passion.

What happened there that made you want to take it from a hobby to a career?

I got really interested in the creative side of the business—doing photo shoots, working with the creative marketing team—and I eventually honed in on the area of styling. It’s something I realized I had been doing, for myself, my whole life. So I started assisting stylists and learning as much as I could, and then eventually started getting my own clients, and now that’s what I do full time.

Was there anything about your relationship to clothes, growing up, that primed the interest for you as an adult? Were you always into style?

My mom likes to say that even when I was 2 years old and she was pushing me around in a stroller at the mall, I’d have opinions about what I saw. My parents didn’t work in fashion, or anything like that, but I did have an aunt who lived in Los Angeles who had been a designer in the ’80s, and she really encouraged me to lean into learning about style and clothing. She had this incredible collection of stuff, dating back to when she first got interested in fashion in the ’70s. I still have a lot of it, and my wife wears some of her stuff now.

Is that mall style still part of your look today?

Absolutely. I think “mall style” is a great way to describe it. For my friends and I, that feels like the lane we’re in right now. It’s a nostalgia thing, for sure, but it’s also super relevant today, especially when you can mix high and low. That’s still very much part of my style today. I think it’s so important to have some of your original DNA carry through to your sense of style. To me, that’s what real style is: being true to yourself, but still evolving. You want to keep those hints of nostalgia and ties back to your roots, but mixing those with modern fashion and design is a pretty cool way to do it.

What’s in your rotation right now? Do you have a favorite pair of jeans, or something, that you pull out often?

My closet is probably 75% flannels. Then mostly denim, cargos, and a whole lot of boots. But I wouldn’t say I ever have any one favorite thing. I like to cycle through stuff too much for that. I also love the cycle of dressing for the seasons. There’s nothing better than getting all your layers ready for fall, for example. I’ll keep some favorites in the rotation, like my old cargo pants, but then I’ll go to Ralph and buy all the new seasonal flannel shirts so that I have new layers to mix in. I love to dress for mood, too. Not necessarily out of obligation but say it’s November and it’s chilly outside and I’m going uptown, I want to capture that mood in my outfit. I’ll dress like I’m going to Christmas dinner at The Polo Bar.

I think that’s one thing that Ralph has always done so well. Both in the breadth of the collections, and what he wears personally. Having fun with the idea of characters—“be many things,” I think he says.

It’s fun to live in the Ralph world. You can do it at 100 percent or you can do it at 25 percent, depending on the day and the mood, but either way I get a lot of joy out of it. We were just in Paris for Fashion Week a couple weeks ago, and I went to the Ralph store on Boulevard Saint-Germain for the first time. It was just phenomenal to go overseas and see the Americana world through that lens. We had lunch at Ralph’s, and it’s all these elegant older French couples wearing full Ralph Lauren—it was amazing.

Do you have any standout favorites in your collection of Ralph pieces?

With a brand like Ralph Lauren, even I’m still discovering vintage stuff that I’ve never seen before. There’s just been so much over the years, in so many different areas. But right now, I’ve been hunting for these Polo firemen’s coats from the ’80s. The classic ones, but also, I found a full-length version in white with an indigo collar. I’m always looking for unique things like that. Maybe I see an old editorial or an old Polo ad, and I’ll just immediately think, “Okay, I need that. Time to hunt.”

Tell me about what you’re wearing for your photo shoot.

I wore a bunch of staples, mixed with some new stuff. A fireman’s jacket, like I mentioned. And an oversize bomber jacket from the ’80s that has this crazy fade on it and these really unique clasps that you have to kind of crank open. I pulled out an old cashmere blazer that I love, as well as a bunch of vintage denim, some of which I got through the vintage program at Ralph stores over the years. And I had to mix in some turquoise jewelry and belts. We shot at my favorite local neighborhood restaurant, Ingas Bar in Brooklyn Heights. That’s where I had my wedding reception, about a year ago, and I wore a full Ralph tux for the wedding. So I brought that with me back there. It doesn’t fit me so much anymore, since I’ve started working out, but I’ll always hang onto it.

As a stylist, do you have any go-to tricks for putting an outfit together?

Something I do a lot is unexpected layering, maybe inspired by the Ralph looks I grew up seeing. When things feel too too uniform, they become less interesting. So my tip: Always throw something into the mix that feels a little unexpected. Whether you’re dressed up or you’re super casual, that element of playfulness is versatile.

What are you working on lately? Any exciting new projects coming up?

Right now I’m lining up some fall/winter and back-to-school shoots, which is a really fun time of year. I think back to when I was shopping for new school clothes, and how I’m now having this wholesome, full-circle moment where I get to work to create the images that I saw and was inspired by as a kid in the mall each fall. It’s really very special, and something I don’t take for granted.
ANDREW CRAIG is the former men’s content editor for Ralph Lauren.
More from
article image
People
THE RL Q&A: Laird Mackintosh
A Broadway actor and longtime Ralph Lauren collector with a new role: proprietor of a Polo archive par excellence in New York’s Hudson Valley.
Read
article image
People
The Summer of the Ice Maiden
Fifty years after winning both Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year, Chris Evert looks back—and forward.
Read
article image
People
THE RL Q&A: Geraldo Rodriguez
A creative strategist and longtime collector who’s been immersed in New York’s vintage Polo culture from his early days—and is still on the hunt for the best of the best.
Read