While Lauren’s vision of the American dream includes leather club chairs, antique cars, and multi-million dollar estates in the Hamptons and Colorado, at its core, it’s about a deeper, more important kind of aspiration. In the cultural space, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is given to those who inspire greatness. Lauren has always challenged us to see the greatness in American life, and to live in that life dressed impeccably, whether in a simple button-down shirt and jeans or a bias-cut gown accessorized with a turquoise and silver belt. Everyone is welcome at Lauren’s doors, and there’s a lot to be said right now for a designer who continues to give us something to look up to in a country that has fallen so deeply and darkly from the dream.

Lauren’s aspiration is about hope and hard work more than it’s about luxury. Yes, he makes and sells clothes and lifestyle products, and yes, many of those things are expensive. But so much of it is deliberately accessible. His creativity has always been about making things to keep a vision alive for as many people as possible. And it’s that great, big, beautiful world of his that makes us feel a sense of freedom and joy—a feeling that’s worth all the medals in the White House.

Brooke Bobb is the fashion news director at Harper’s Bazaar, working across print and digital platforms. Previously, she was a senior content editor at Amazon Fashion, and worked at Vogue Runway as senior fashion news writer.