June 10, 2011 |
FROM THE VAULT (SUMMER 2010)
BORN: October 14, 1939; New York, USA
NATIONALITY: American
LABELS: Ralph Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren
MISC: Studied business but dropped out after two years. In 1972 he released Polo’s famous short sleeved mesh shirt with the Polo logo. It came out in 24 colours and soon because a classic. June 11, 1997, Polo Ralph Lauren became a public company, traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
OTHER INTERESTS: Ralph Lauren is also well known as a collector of classic automobiles.
Few men in fashion can claim to have reinvented his countrymen (and women) by creating aspirations they never thought they could have. But that is exactly what Ralph Lauren has done. But he has done more. While empowering the people of America, he changed the way we all shop, no matter where we are in the world today. And he did it by creating the most understated and subtle of clothes for men and women based on the dress and demeanour of the British upper classes, America’s rich Wild West culture and, above all, the way that both were portrayed on the silver screen in the heyday of Hollywood movies, from the 1930s to the 1950s.
An outdoor man, a film buff, a collector of vintage and classic cars, and a rider of a Ducati motorbike he designed himself, Lauren ticks few of the boxes you think of when you hear the words “dress designer”. Except, of course, the most important one of all: he is a genius at creating clothes with an instant appeal across the board even with those who cannot hope to afford them – they are very expensive, as clothes using the finest luxury materials and the best European tailoring must be – but can still have that “some day” dream.
The Ralph Lauren woman is refined, understated and entirely American. Where others dress up, she knows that true elegance is about dressing down. Lauren’s ideal is a blonde with squeaky-clean hair, a silk shirt, fine wool trousers and loafers, all in the finest materials and perfectly made to the highest standards. Think of Katharine Hepburn and Lauren Bacall and you have Ralph Lauren’s total aesthetic…
WHAT WERE YOU DOING 10 YEARS AGO?
“The really big thing we were doing 10 years ago was launching Ralphlauren.com – the world of Ralph Lauren online. Other than that I was doing much the same thing I am doing today – working with all my teams on design, advertising, creating new retail concepts, expanding our horizons across the world from Moscow, Dubai, China, and now a new store on the Left Bank in Paris.”
HOW HAS YOUR APPROACH TO FASHION CHANGED OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS?
“Not at all. I design the way I always have. I think about the woman or the man that I design for, and their children and their homes and how they live and what could add quality and, yes, happiness to their lives. I see myself as a consumer as well, and so I design out of the personal experience of living. That hasn’t changed. It’s how we communicate our message that has changed the most.”
IN WHAT WAYS ARE PERSONAL APPEARANCE AND LIFESTYLE IMPORTANT TO YOU?
“The way people live and their dreams and aspirations are most important to me. I love the way people look and live in America – in a glamorous Hollywood setting or on the open plains of the west. I love the heritage of an English cottage covered in roses and a woman in her muddy wellies tending her garden. I love a young couple sipping wine in a romantic little café in Paris. Or a picnic on an island beach enjoyed by family and friends. These are scenes from the movies that are always in my head and always inspire me.”
TEN IS CONSIDERED A TALISMANIC NUMBER. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU?
“I think of the number 10 mostly as a time marker – 10 years in a decade. It’s hard for me to believe this company has just celebrated four decades of growth and success, and we’re on the fifth with as much passion and energy as the first.”
FASHION IS CHANGING RAPIDLY. HOW WILL IT AFFECT YOU IN HOW YOU PRESENT YOUR CLOTHES IN ORDER TO REACH THE MAXIMUM AUDIENCE – AND HOW WILL THAT AUDIENCE DIFFER FROM THE TRADITIONAL AUDIENCE?
“Fashion is about change, and though I am constantly looking for newness, I am also committed to my own personal inspiration, to quality and what I believe works for the consumers we have all over the world. How we communicate that message has been expanded. In just the past few months we not only showed our women’s collection on a traditional runway, but two other collections – Lauren and Rugby – broadcast in online runway shows on our website. The response to these online shows from busy women and men who can now shop directly from the screens of their phones or computers has been incredible. We started this electronic journey 10 years ago with the launch of Ralphlauren.com and have been in the forefront of communicating via the internet, special applications on mobile phones and in our stores ever since.”
WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG – SAY, 10 OR A TEENAGER – WHAT WERE YOUR AMBITIONS?
“I was a normal American kid who grew up in a neighbourhood where I played stickball and basketball, and went to movies with my friends. I wanted to be Joe DiMaggio or a movie star. I had no idea of being a designer. From the time I was pretty young I would go with my older brothers to search for vintage clothes in surplus stores – old army jackets or safari jackets. They were all about a certain kind of utility and that’s what I loved. I had a personal vision for creating my own personal style. I had a passion for clothes as a way of self-expression.”
OUTSIDE OF FASHION, WHAT ARE THAT THINGS THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY OR SAD?
“My happiness outside of work has always been about my family and close group of personal friends. Sadness has to do with the their loss.”
WHAT ARE THE TRUE INSPIRATIONS FOR YOU – IN YOUR LIFE AND IN YOUR DESIGNING?
“They are the same. I am inspired by people and things that have real character, integrity and honesty. I am inspired by travel, and recently explored the beauty of Africa, China and Russia. I love the natural beauty of the changing seasons in the city, in the country, at the beach or out west. I am inspired by movies that embody a kind of elegance and charm. That things that inspire me change daily, but are always rooted in the same kind of simplicity.”
IF YOU COULD SPEND 10 DAYS TOTALLY AWAY FROM FASHION AND YOUR PRESENT LIFE, HOW WOULD YOU SPEND THEM?
“With my wife Ricky.”
IN 10 YEARS’ TIME WHAT SORT OF LIFE DO YOU EXPECT TO BE LIVING?
“I love my life just the way it is and don’t expect to change it in any way.”
by Colin McDowell
Photograph by Bruce Weber – www.bruceweber.com
