Polo-shirts in focus: Polo Ralph Lauren

Origins

Ralph Lauren  was  born Ralph Lifshitz in 1939. Despite being best known as the quintessential American fashion designer he studied business and did a stint in the army before establishing his own clothing business.  In 1967 he set up the  Polo label – but it didn’t sell polo-shirts at that point, rather, he was instantly successful with ties! His fashion radar told him that the narrow ties and conventional styles of the time were not appealing to the younger generation and created wide, handmade ties using flamboyant colours, very much in the vein of the hippy movement, but paired with opulent materials rather than the cheap fabrics that the hippies wore.  Because he was trying to promote a lifestyle rather than following a trend, he chose a name for the tie line that he felt embodied discreet elegance and classic style: Polo.

 Signature style

After the ties came general menswear, which is when the polo-shirt first appeared, and, in 1971, a women’s label. The signature style of Ralph Lauren is actually a combination – on the one hand its a chic look, which is supported by good fabric and a lot of classic styling, and on the other hand it’s preppy – aimed at the younger generation who want to look fashionable without looking cheap.  The look extends into sportswear, casualwear and home furnishings and is very American.  The Lauren empire was floated on the US stockmarket in 1997, and includes Polo Ralph Lauren, Polo Sport and the Ralph Lauren Collection.

Why we love him

Ralph Lauren can always tap perfectly into the current media obsession – for example in 1999, he had a walk-on part on TV sitcom Friends and developed this into a deal with NBC to sell the Ralph Lauren lifestyle on the Internet and TV. He said at the time that ‘We don’t only sell clothes.  We are selling a dream and a vision’. The wraparound styling of clothing, accessories and home items means that the Ralph Lauren ‘look’ extends seamlessly into the whole of life, and if you enjoy that look, you can base your whole life around it.

 Dissenting views

This year’s Olympic costumes caused a small furore – Ralph Lauren was accused of making the American team look like ‘rich snobs’ and of promoting his brand too prominently on the black jackets which all bore his white polo horse logo.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Add comment September 4th, 2008