While the brand may have started with a tie, over the years Ralph Lauren and polo shirts have become almost synonymous with American culture. Now, the New York-based fashion brand is celebrating its flagship product in a coffee table book published by Rizzoli International.
“A polo shirt is to Ralph Lauren what Mickey Mouse is to Disney or a Statue of Liberty is to New York,” the book begins. “This is the signature of the Ralph Lauren company, created five decades ago, a symbol that reflects not only a luxurious lifestyle, but also elegant casualness and lightness, which have become the cornerstone of American style itself.
The 544-page, 6.5-inch by 8.5-inch, solid-sleeved heavyweight book features forward Ralph Lauren, as well as documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, as well as David Lauren, vice president and designer son of Ralph Lauren Corp. . .
“I wanted the shirt to become a part of the wearer’s life,” wrote Ralph Lauren. “I never knew that after 50 years it would become such a personal icon around the world. Everything I do always comes from people’s lifestyles. It’s honest and sincere, and I hope it’s about the diversity of people who wear my polo shirt and all my clothes.”
Containing 400 full-color photographs, this book celebrates the shirt through the use of historical imagery and personal stories from celebrities, politicians, presidents, members of the royal family, athletes, and ordinary people over the years. All of them include presidents from George W. Bush and Barack Obama to Paul Newman, Kanye West, Sean Combs and Gigi Hadid, all represented in the brand’s cult hub. There is a chapter on the Polo Pony logo, a symbol created by the company in 1972, as well as sections on the classic white polo, the pampered polo, the terra polo, the company’s sustainable product, as well as its appearance at the Olympics. US Open and Wimbledon.
Dogs in polo shirts in Rizzoli’s new book “Ralph Lauren’s Polo Shirt”
Courtesy of Ralph Lauren
American filmmaker Burns sums it up: “When you wear a polo shirt, you immediately become involved in a profound irony of uniqueness, but also, because so many others in the world wear it, of belonging.”
To popularize the book, entitled Polo Ralph LaurenThe company will offer the vintage and collectible designs featured in the book for purchase at a limited number of select stores, as well as on the Polo app. They are extracted from the brand’s archive collection and certified to ensure authenticity.
The company also offers The Upcycled Polo Shirt, a selection of fabrics that have been handcrafted by artisans at Los Angeles-based circular design platform Atelier & Repairs, and given new life through the use of an overdyed process to give to each shirt. Plate and supports painted in indigo and vintage embroidery.
The new polo ordering options will also be available through the company’s Custom Polo, Made to Order program.
In addition, the company will open the Ralph Lauren Polo Shop Concept Store in Tokyo, Ginza and Berlin. The stores will have the company’s polo shirts and will have customization stores for men, women and children.
Polo Ralph Lauren It retailed for $36.95 and is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Ralph Lauren, Target and other retailers.
This story originally aired on WWD.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
