Ralph Lauren has been the epitome of the all-American designer for over 40 years. With wife Ricky at his side he has built an empire which started as a business making ties in 1967 and has grown into an international fashion powerhouse spanning womenswear, menswear and childrenswear, as well as an interiors collection, restaurants and jewelry.
Ralph Lauren was born Ralph Lifshitz in the Bronx, New York City, on October 14, 1939. His parents were Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from Belarus. At the age of 16, Ralph and his brother Jerry changed their last name to Lauren, having been teased consistently at school.
Lauren attended Baruch College in Manhattan, where he studied business for two years. After a brief stint in the Army, Lauren took a sales job at Brooks Brothers.
Lauren attended Baruch College in Manhattan, where he studied business for two years. After a brief stint in the Army, Lauren took a sales job at Brooks Brothers.
In 1967 he went to his employer with a proposal to design a line of ties, but his employer said, “The world is not ready for Ralph Lauren.” Nevertheless, in 1967, Lauren began designing men’s neckties, branding them under the name “Polo” and selling them at large department stores, including Bloomingdale’s. He had no experience in fashion design, but he grew up in the NY fashion scene by selling men’s gloves, suits, and ties.
Within a year, Lauren then expanded his designs to a full menswear line. Lauren began with a handmade line of wide, colorful ties and menswear, which paved the way to launch his own in-store boutique in Bloomingdale's in 1969. The designer expanded to encompass womenswear (1971), his signature polo shirts (1972), fragrance (1978), home furnishings (1983), sportswear (1993), paint (1995), denim (1996), and even a restaurant, in Chicago in 1999. Ralph even designed costumes for The Great Gatsby (1973) and Annie Hall (1978). |
Lauren’s lavish Madison Avenue flagship in New York City was built into the renovated Rhinelander mansion in 1986, a retail space that doubles as an opulent, high-end boutique and a tourist attraction. Though the label is perhaps best associated with its signature preppy polo shirts and tweed blazers, Lauren has shown range and innovation each season, from the cowboy-inspired looks of the seventies to the Santa Fe prints of the eighties to the more recent high-fashion twenties safari looks of the 2000s. The apparel is divided into a dozen lines, including the purple label for men’s evening wear and hand-tailored suiting, the black label for women’s evening wear, RLX for ski, golf, and tennis attire. Today, the iconic polo emblem adorns everything from Pink Pony tees benefiting cancer research to tiny plaid high-tops for tykes and miniature polos for pets. The Ralph lifestyle has shown staggering staying power, thanks to loyal fans who ride horses, get chauffeured in Town Cars, and everything in between.
Accomplishments
Ralph Lauren is one of the world’s most innovative design and business leaders, and a cultural icon who has built a multi-billion dollar global brand over the past 40 years. A true fashion icon, Ralph Lauren’s career has spanned four decades that have resulted in numerous unique tributes for his role within the industry. Lauren is the only designer to receive the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s (CFDA) four highest honors – the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Womenswear Designer of the Year Award, the Menswear Designer of the Year Award, the Retailer of the Year Award, as well as the CFDA’s Humanitarian Leadership Award. In June 2007, the CFDA awarded Lauren the first ever American Fashion Legend Award and in 2009 he received the inaugural CFDA “Popular Vote Award”.
Ralph Lauren is one of the world’s most innovative design and business leaders, and a cultural icon who has built a multi-billion dollar global brand over the past 40 years. A true fashion icon, Ralph Lauren’s career has spanned four decades that have resulted in numerous unique tributes for his role within the industry. Lauren is the only designer to receive the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s (CFDA) four highest honors – the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Womenswear Designer of the Year Award, the Menswear Designer of the Year Award, the Retailer of the Year Award, as well as the CFDA’s Humanitarian Leadership Award. In June 2007, the CFDA awarded Lauren the first ever American Fashion Legend Award and in 2009 he received the inaugural CFDA “Popular Vote Award”.