The history of Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren, born Ralph Lifshitz, was born in the Bronx borough of New York City on October 14th 1939. He had loved fashion from a young age, so much so, that he saved up his pocket money in order to buy expensive suits, by 12 years of age, Ralph Lauren was the best dressed child in his neighbourhood.                            

 

At the age of 16, Ralph chose to change his last name to Lauren to avoid the unfortunate obscenity reference Lifshitz has in English. Ralph was reportedly teased about it in school and wanted to change it. He told Oprah Winfrey;

 

“When I was a kid, the other kids would make a lot of fun of me. It was a tough name. That's why I decided to change it. Then people said, "Did you change your name because you don't want to be Jewish?" I said, "Absolutely not. That's not what it's about. My cousins who lived in California had changed their last name to Lawrence. So I just thought, "I'm going to pick a nice last name"—it wasn't particularly connected to anything or anyone."

 

Rather than study design, he completed most of a business degree and learned his trade through evening jobs. While working at one of these jobs. In 1967, with the financial backing of Manhattan clothing manufacturer Norman Hilton, Lauren opened a necktie store where he also sold ties of his own design, under the label "Polo.” He later received the rights to use the trademark Polo from Brooks Brothers.

 

In 1997, Polo Ralph Lauren became a public company and the brand went from strength to strength. In 2007, it was reported that there were more than 35 Ralph Lauren boutiques across the United States.

 

In addition to his business empire, Lauren has been involved in various philanthropic initiatives over the years. The designer helped to establish the Ralph Lauren Centre for Cancer Care and Prevention in 2003. This is something which is very close to Ralph’s heart as sometime in early 1987, he was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour. In April 1987 he underwent surgery to remove the tumour and made a full recovery.

 

Ralph Lauren is now 73 years of age and continues to create new fashion lines each season.

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