Ralph Lauren
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Ralph Lauren (born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer and business executive.
Born Ralph Lifschitz in the New York City borough of the Bronx to Jewish immigrants Fraydl (Kotlar) and Frank Lifshitz, his father was a house painter. There are many parallels with the late Robert Denning, the interior designer. Both grew up without fashion, but went on to create for others an environment of society, old money and country-club style. Although neither had any exposure to this world as a child, each was able to visualize and create his dream. For Lauren this look would eventually become Polo Ralph Lauren.
From a very young age, he started working after school to earn money to buy stylish, expensive suits with an early preference for quality over quantity. His attire soon gave him a trendy reputation among his peers. Lauren was graduated in 1957 from the DeWitt Clinton High School, at which time it was an all-boys' school. In his high school yearbook, he stated under his picture that he wanted to be a millionaire. Others who attended this school include Burt Lancaster, Robert Klein, and Stan Lee. At age 16, Ralph's brother Jerry changed their last name from Lifshitz to Lauren (his brother Lenny remained a Lifshitz for many years). Some consider this a denial of their Jewish heritage; Ralph and Jerry considered it necessary for success.
He went to the City College of New York where he studied Business and dropped out after two years. From 1962 to 1964, he served in the United States Army. After his discharge, in 1968, he married Ricky Low-Beer. He did not attend fashion school, but worked for Brooks Brothers as a salesman and then created the label Polo, a necktie business. He later purchased this name from his initial backer, Norman Hilton. Lauren's fashion empire has since grown into a billion-dollar business.
In 1984 he recreated the Rhinelander Mansion, a former home of the photographer Edgar de Evia and Robert Denning, into the flagship store for Polo Ralph Lauren. This same year de Evia photographed the Lauren home at Round Hill in Jamaica for House & Garden.
In the middle 1990s, Polo Ralph Lauren became a public company, traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RL.
Ralph and his wife, Ricky, have two sons and a daughter: Andrew, David, and Dylan. David is an executive at Polo Ralph Lauren. Dylan owns and operates an upscale candy store, Dylan's Candy Bar, at 59th Street and Third Avenue in Manhattan.
Lauren is the subject of several biographies (written by Jeffrey Trachtenberg, Michael Gross and Colin MacDowell).
Lauren is also well-known as a collector of classic automobiles. His cars have won best in show at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance multiple times. His collection was recently displayed at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
[edit] Clothing brands
Polo Ralph Lauren also owns the hip boutique retailer Club Monaco, which operates independently within the RL corporate structure.
In 2006 Ralph Lauren became the first Official Outfitter of Wimbledon, redesigning the outfits for ballboys, line and court judges and the Wimbledon logo was adapted for this purpose. Ralph Lauren's Polo brand and style was used and a range of clothing for men and women was launched on 26th June.
[edit] Imitations
The vast majority of Polo Ralph Lauren's apparel is manufactured in the United States, with few exceptions to its product line, such as its mens black-label business line (Panama), some shoe lines (Italy, England, and France), "Rugby" (Italy & US), and the popular PRL polo shirts (primarily USA with occasional asia-pacific sales stock sourced from Sri Lanka). Like watches, the Ralph Lauren brand has become a desirable item to copy-cat with many cheap imitation PRL products widely available throughout Latin America and many asian countries, particularly Bali and Jakarta. PRL is currently pursuing civil action against dealers in Ubud who falsely claim to be factory outlet operators, selling counterfeit items to unsuspecting tourists. This industry has been in recent decline, following the recent terrorist bombings in Indonesia.
