Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren

Born Ralph Lifshitz in 1939, this Bronx native changed his last name as a young man, due to years of cruel teasing from schoolmates. “It has shit in it”, he was known to remark, when he was questioned about his birth name and why he changed it.

Growing up, Lauren was encouraged by his mother to become a rabbi, but he chose a much different course. Influenced by the easy, preppy elegance of the country club set, as well as the glamour of old Hollywood, he chose to emulate the work of Brooks Brothers and other WASP-y retailers, creating a look that seemed to embody easy American elegance. His interest in luxury, refinement and a certain “taste level” put a different spin on the staid classics of the past.

Lauren first gained acclaim with his wide ties, which were often made of unusual fabrics. These standout accessories were not yet trendy in the late Sixties, when he began to try and sell them to New York stores. Soon, word spread about Lauren’s somewhat dandyish personal style and his flashy neckwear; he used this success to find investors and then he branched out into men’s and ladies suits and casual wear. Eventually, his clothing lines were sold at high-end stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, where they became extremely popular.

In time, he opened his own stores, which mimicked elite mansions. Careful staging and set design made his shops unforgettable, but their construction, décor and maintenance were so expensive that they often made it difficult to turn a profit.

In the 80’s, Ralph Lauren really became a force to be reckoned with, as his signature polo shirts for men, with their ubiquitous polo pony and rider, became coveted items for many different demographics. Available in every color of the rainbow, they lined his coffers and allowed him to put more money into his glamorous women’s wear lines; he especially enjoyed producing couture pieces and overseeing glossy runway shows.

Ralph Lauren is known for his desire to control every facet of his company’s image: some of his ex-employees tell tales of a control freak with a quick temper and little patience for mistakes. In fact, the whole Lauren saga, with its many reversals of fortune and huge comebacks, was recorded with biting accuracy in the nasty, unauthorized tell-all book, Genuine Authentic.

Today, his basic polo shirts and khaki pants continue to remain the base of his empire, along with fragrances like Lauren (for women) and Polo, his famous men’s cologne.