For a company founded 55 years ago, there is something doggedly future-facing about Ralph Lauren. In the final months of 2021 alone, the fashion brand partnered with Roblox on a digital-only collection, launched a try-on feature with Snapchat and dipped its toes into the lucrative, booming world of clothing rental via its new subscription service, The Lauren Look.

Now, as a new year gets under way, it is debuting not just a new product, but an entirely new fabric it believes is a world-first, called clarus.