Within the 55-year-old, multi-billion-dollar Ralph Lauren fashion empire sits a unique line among the American glitz and glamour. The designer, who started his business in 1967 by selling ties under the brand name Polo, made his name by creating a particular look of American fantasy and spending the years refining it. The Polo collection for example, takes on a kind of triumvirate of sporty, preppy and youthful collegiate energy (Ivy League or Oxbridge, naturally). Think Oxford cloth button downs, chinos, and of course the namesake polo shirts in vibrant and a frankly, inexhaustible array of colours. The look in stores: light wood furniture, university coats of arms—a kind of cosy club room, if you will.
The runway and Purple Label lines (the latter introduced in 1995 and first shown at Milan Fashion Week in 2002), meanwhile, are built on high fashion sophistication, borrowing from European tailoring traditions and techniques. On the women’s side, imagine clean, bleached walls like a Hamptons retreat; and on the men’s, dark woods and leather furniture akin to a private gentleman’s club.
The point is that the appeal of Ralph Lauren has never just been about the clothes. It’s all about a particular look and lifestyle—as evidenced in 1983 when the designer became a pioneer among fashion brands to launch a home collection to truly extend that look and feel beyond the wardrobe.
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