Ralph Lauren Research Paper

Fanta Kamara Ralph Lauren

On October 14,1939 in Bronx, New York a fashion mogul is born. His name is Ralph Lifshitz, now known as Ralph Lauren. He was born into a Jewish immigrant working class family, and is the youngest out of four children. He was constantly bullied when he younger and that is why he changed his last name. Lauren was into expensive and extravagant clothes , so when he was twelve he got a job after school so he could afford the clothes he desired. He also sold handmade ties at school. Lauren always knew that he was going to be successful in life because when he was asked to list his goals in his high school yearbook, he said he was going to be a millionaire. After high school he attended Baruch College in Manhattan and studied business at night.

He worked as a sales clerk at Brooks Brothers ,then he was a tie designer at Rivetz & Co. Lauren's designs were different because he made his ties wide and colorful which were different from the dark and narrow style that was trending at the time. The ties sold very well, and his designs earned over half a million dollars. This inspired Lauren to start his own fashion company in 1968 Lauren found his company Polo. Lauren and his brother chose the name Polo because of the power, style, and sophistication that the brand has been associated with. In 1967 Lauren was trying to sell his line of ties to Bloomingdales, but they wanted him to remove his name from the label and to make his ties narrower. He refused to sell to the department store ,and after the success of his line, they decided that they wanted his line in their stored. After Lauren sold his ties at large department stores, he decided to expand his line to full menswear. In 1970 he was awarded the Coty Award for his menswear design. In 1971 he introduced his women's line and expanded his brand. Lauren opened his first retail store in 1971 in Beverly Hills, California. In 1972 he released his iconic