Lifestyle

Ralph Lauren has a reoccuring image that is carried out through is broad range of brands. If it's RL Home or any brand of clothing that he has created, they are are basically the same style. Everything seems to relate back to each other. Yet, in every season, things are new and fresh. His sense of timeless style is noticed by everyone. Ralph Lauren is considered the “first image maker” in fashion. His experience throughout the years has increased with every passing year. For being a designer starting in a working class neighborhood in Brooklyn, he has definitely changed the fashion standards. Without him, we wouldn’t have an “All American” designer to look up to.

Ralph Lauren Timeline

1939 - Ralph Lauren was born.

1967 - Received loan to start his preppy, all american brand, Polo. At first, it only sold the men’s ties that Bloomingdales rejcted.They were not typical ties; they were very colorful, and they broke out from the style of that time. They were also the first Ralph Lauren design. The heads of Bloomingdales suggested to him that he should change this design of the ties because they were not the specific “trend”.

1969 - Lauren bought the first Polo location in New York City.

1971 - Polo branches out with a new women's line.

1972 - Ralph Lauren creates the ever-famous Polo shirt. It is now one of the most popular shirts in American history.

1975 - Ralph Lauren wins the American Fashion Award.

1983 - Ralph Lauren Home is created. This brand's goal was to be the opitamy of everything Lauren had created in the past...but in the form of blankets, pillows, and fabrics. It is still a very productive and popular line today.

1999 - The Ralph Lauren restaurant was built.

2000 - The Polo website was launched. It debuts all of his collections as well as special features about Ralph Lauren himself. It enables you to shop  online as well as watch runway videos from his current seasons.

2004 - Rugby was born.

2007 - 40th anniversary. A book was put onto the market celebrating 40 years of style. It has over 700 pictures and 480 pages. 

Appealing to the Crowd

Throughout the hundreds of themes Lauren has been inspired by for his collections, they always have a reoccurring style. His ideal look is very classy, and he prefers classic styles opposed to trends. He gets a lot of ideas from England, where many trends are inspired. As a designer, Ralph Lauren has had had a certain reputation for being the “god of prep”, so in order to continue on with this reputation, he cannot completely change the center of his theme every season. He has to keep up with the classic look. For example, this summer his Martinique theme debuted. He had to mix classic with nautical. It is key for him to keep up with his reputation while attracting different crowds so he can continue bringing in more buyers. 

Pictures

Rugby

In 2004, Ralph Lauren developed a new line called Rugby. It was for the young adult age group. Rugby is actually my preferred label by Lauren. It is expensive, but the stores were put in high class towns around the country. Their styles are a more rugged-chic look. This has turned our generation into more of a sophisticated look as opposed to the Abercrombie and Fitch era. It has a very old-school look with some athletic inspired themes. 

The Pink Pony

A very productive line by Ralph Lauren is called Pink Pony. It supports breast cancer early diagnosis, education, treatment, and research. 10% of proceeds from the Pink Pony clothing line are given to the Pink Pony fund. There are at least 5 hospitals they support in the United States, and multiple hospitals internationally. This has affected the fashion industry because more designers have become more involved with philanthropy. They have spread out from only fashion, and have helped thousands of people in hospitals. 

Competition in the Fashion Industry

Ralph Lauren and his $13.5 billion business have been a revolutionizing change for fashion industries all over the world. It has become wildly popular over the past 40 years. So far this year, Ralph Lauren has made a $2,316M revenuewhich is $374,00 more then 2006. It has sales that increase rapidly, which can also mean the fashion competition is increasing. Tommy Hilfiger, who previously worked for Ralph Lauren before his worldwide label was released, is his major competitor. In the graph above, it demonstrates Lauren’s labels versus other brands of similar style. The competition between these brands are incredible. Having competition is amazing for businesses because they strive to beat out the opposing business. They try to influence more opinions then the other. Lauren has been very successful in attempting to influence the fashion industry. Ralph Lauren has influenced many other competing companies with their designs and set new standards for the “preppy” look.

There is a “Lauren-esque” branch of fashion that he has created. It consists of many smaller brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and J.Crew. With the creation of these followers, the “prep” look expands. More and more people are drawn into the look.  They adapt the lifestyle. Lauren stated in an interview that "I believe in clothes that last, that are not dated in a season. The people who wear my clothes don't think of them as fashion." This proves that people have followed him throughout the years