DISCOVERING RALPH LAUREN – FASHION DESIGNER FOCUS

I recently caught the Discovering Ralph Lauren documentary on Amazon Prime and took some notes and screen grabs that I wanted to share with you all. Most of these are shorthand transcriptions, not direct quotes from the fashion commentators that star. 

The very word 'lifestyle' is something that started with Ralph Lauren. Born Ralph Lifshitz in 1939, he was a son of Jewish immigrants raised in the Bronx, New York. Ralph was fixated on fashion from an early age. He had two pin ups on his wall, Katherine Hepburn and the Duke of Windsor.

There is a very drinkable blend of Hollywood and aristocratic Britishness throughout his collections. At 16 he changed his surname from Lifshitz to Lauren. Too many humorous mispronunciations. Ralph Lauren soon became known by his friends for his style and entrepreneurial streak; he bought ties and started selling them on. He didn't study fashion.

Lauren cut his teeth at Alexander's; now a defunct department store.

There he not only got a sense for retail, but his own dress sense. He went to business school, then the army, then went to Brooks Brothers. He started making ties for a company called Rivets. But Lauren's ties were different. 

His were 4 inches wide ties instead of the then standard 2.5". Lauren used beautiful silk and these ties were thicker than the norm. He took his range to Bloomingdales, but they didn't like them being too thick.

However, Newman Marcus ordered 200 from him, and injection of capital was what Lauren needed to establish himself under his own name.

Ralph married Ricky and she has been his wife ever since. Ricky has served as inspiration for his womenswear, it's been said when Lauren's approach to menswear is him dressing himself, and when he is dressing women he is dressing Ricky. His number one selling bag is called Ricky named after her.

In 1967 Lauren opened his own neck tie store with the help of a 50k investment from Norman Hilton. Lauren was fixated on the sport Polo. It was a sport played by kings and the European elite and oozed all the qualities he wanted his brand to portray and imbibe. 

Although ironically, Lauren has never played Polo himself.

In 1968 Lauren expanded from his neck tie range into menswear. It's preppy, but with echoes of European tailoring and wider trousers. The look was referred to at the time as 'with it, but not too with it'. It reflected what’s going on, but not alienating the ordinary man. 

Around this time Lauren introduced the polo horse logo on the cuffs of the shirts. He launched a polo range, which was not unique. But he took it and tweaked it and offered it in 20 colours. It represented a certain Britishness and sporting lifestyle and represented the elite.

The Ralph Lauren style was really looking towards this European aesthetic. It's easy sportswear. A connection to high fashion without being overwhelming.

In 1974 Lauren got involved with the cinematic version of The Great Gatsby. The style is not only in the key of Ralph Lauren, but resembles that old money, aristocratic outlook. It could be an advert for Ralph Lauren. To learn more about Ralph Lauren in films be sure to catch the From Tailors With Love blog. (Episode 92). 

In 1981 Lauren opened a flagship store on New Bond Street in London and was the first American Designer to do this. The store is still there today. 

Ralph Lauren released numerous capsules under umbrella brands at more accessible prices. If you're selling the dream you have to sell it to everyone. People that wear his clothes don't think of them as fashion. Lauren doesn't move with what's going on in fashion, he's just making a bigger wardrobe. He just expands his own style to fit his own ideologies. 

With an estimated net worth of 8 billion, he is his own best advertising. After years of emulating film stars, people now want to emulate him. If you buy into his clothes you could buy into a better life. 

The legacy of Ralph Lauren is the motto is that we don't sell fashion, we sell a way of life. It's not just limited to the clothes, it’s a piece of a better existence.

People want to live that life and be part of that perfect life.

Discovering Ralph Lauren is now available on Amazon Prime.