Advancements in technology saw polyester rise in popularity and eventually replace knitted pique cotton in the mass-production of tennis shirts. This new fabric was less prone to fading, wearing, or bleeding in the wash, making it ideal for daily wear and sports use. Ralph Lauren. In a bid to produce the ideal knitted pique cotton tennis shirt of times-past, Ralph Lauren launched his iteration of the tennis shirt in Despite the benefits of polyester, the Polo Ralph Lauren shirt overtook all others as the archetypal knitted tennis shirt.
Buddy Austin left and Rene Lacoste right before a match, Like this? Polo player, s via Vintage Dancer. Image via Time Magazine. Image via Pinterest. Next Article Redcast Heritage Co. For the young entrepreneur, polo symbolized a particular connection to people, horses, fashion, and most importantly, status.
He compiled the four pillars into a chic clothing brand that would bring polo style and comfort to everyday life at an elevated level. When it comes to American menswear fashion, Ralph Lauren paved the road for designers to come. Ralph Lauren is a brand that represents preppy luxury and a turn back to the collegiate years universally. It then distinguished itself not only as a polo shirt-making company, but a proper fashion house. The brand continues to carry the Polo Ralph Lauren capsules.
Pink Pony: a charity line percentage of sales from which benefit the Pink Pony Fund and other cancer charities around the world. The line is symbolized with a pink polo player. Even though Polo Ralph Lauren was only developed in , a mere sixty years ago, the brand seems to have always been a fashion staple.
The horse rider-and-mallet emblem on the polo shirts is timeless. Ralph Lauren had already been in the fashion industry when in , then years old, he persuaded the president of tie manufacturer Beau Brummell to let him start his own line. He worked out of a single drawer in the Empire State Building and even made the deliveries by himself. They even gave Ralph Lauren his own shop.
This was the birth of the iconic polo shirt. Another year would go by and Lauren launched the shirt in colorways. What Ralph Lauren did was not necessarily groundbreaking, but the way he did it was entirely new. The genius marketing would spoon feed the patrons they wanted to attract. The clothing had a mix of Ivy League and country club wear, married to everyday apparel.
The result was a simplistic sophistication that every American at the turn of the century aspired to. He represented a true Americana personage and drew out the path for future designers to come. Ralph was known for his distinctive fashion sense as a teen, finding inspiration in screen icons like Fred Astaire and Cary Grant while having a taste for both classic preppy wear and vintage looks.
He went on to attend Baruch College in Manhattan, where he studied business for two years. After a brief stint in the Army, Lauren took on a sales job at Brooks Brothers. In , Lauren was awarded the Coty Award for his men's designs. Following this recognition, he released a line of women's suits tailored in a classic men's style. Then in , Lauren released a short-sleeve cotton shirt in 24 colors. Lauren is known for capitalizing on an aspirational style and key insignia which evokes the British gentry while also referencing the aesthetics of the American upper class.
His fashion ideas have been criticized by some for not being particularly innovative while also embraced by scores of consumers who prefer more approachable looks. Lauren subsequently broadened his brand to include a luxury clothing line known as Ralph Lauren Purple, a rough and rustic line of apparel dubbed RRL, a home-furnishing collection called Ralph Lauren Home and a set of fragrances.
Polo currently produces clothing for men, women and children and has hundreds of internationally placed stores, including factory stores that produce the majority of his sales domestically.
Lauren has also designed Olympic uniforms for Team USA, though controversy ensued when it was discovered that the competitors' attire for the summer games was made in China.
During the s, Lauren made his foray into the film business as well, further cementing his status as a classic American designer by outfitting cast members for the film adaptation of The Great Gatsby , starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow.
Lauren also received credit for helping to outfit the cast of 's The Wild Party , another early 20th-century outing starring James Coco and Raquel Welch. The designer then became well known for Diane Keaton 's rather distinctive looks in the comedy Annie Hall. Decades later, Lauren would be enamored by a show that wholeheartedly reflects his particular vision, the PBS series Downton Abbey.
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