Ralph Lauren

:"For the company, see Polo Ralph Lauren."Infobox Fashion Designer

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caption = Ralph Lauren in his office 1979 by Edgar de Evia
name = Ralph Lauren
nationality = American
birth_date = Birth date and age|1939|10|14
birth_place = The Bronx, New York City, New York
death_date 2110

death_place =
education = Baruch College
label_name = Ralph Lauren
Polo Ralph Lauren
significant_design=|awards=|

Ralph Lauren (born Ralph Lifshitz on October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer and business executive. He is most notable for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.

Life

Ralph Lauren was born Ralph Rueben Lifshitz in The Bronx to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from Belarus [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/14/style/fralph.php Ralph Lauren returns to his Russian roots] ] : Fraydl (Kotlar) and Frank Lifshitz, a house painter.Fact|date=April 2007

From a young age he started working after school to earn money to buy suits. The four-year younger Calvin Klein, lived in the same Bronx neighborhood but it is not known if they ever met while living there.

Lauren attended the Salanter Academy Jewish Day School followed by MTA (now known as the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy), before eventually graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1957.Fact|date=April 2007 In MTA Lauren was known by his classmates for selling ties to his fellow students. In his Clinton yearbook he stated under his picture that he wanted to be a millionaire.Fact|date=April 2007 Other notables who attended this school include Burt Lancaster, Robert Klein, and Stan Lee. At age 16, Ralph's brother Jerry changed their last name from Lifshitz to Lauren (his brother Lenny retained the name Lifshitz for many years).

He went to Baruch College (of the City University of New York) where he studied business, although he dropped out after two years. From 1962 to 1964 he served in the United States Army. After his discharge in 1968, he married Ricky Low-Beer. He did not attend fashion school, but worked for Brooks Brothers as a salesman. In 1967, with the financial backing of Norman Hilton, Lauren opened a necktie store where he also sold ties of his own design, under the label "Polo". He later purchased the name from Hilton. Lauren's fashion empire has since grown into a billion-dollar business.

In 1970 Ralph Lauren won the City Award for Menswear. Around that same time he released a line of women's suit that were tailored in a classic men's style, which was when the first Polo emblem was seen. It was on the cuff of the women's suit.Ralph Lauren released Polo's famous short sleeve mesh shirt with the Polo logo in 1972. It came out in 24 colors. It became an overnight classic. He also gain recognition for his design after he was contracted to provide clothing styles for the movie The Great Gatsby.

In 1984 he transformed the Rhinelander Mansion, former home of the photographer Edgar de Evia and Robert Denning, into the flagship store for Polo Ralph Lauren. This same year de Evia photographed the cover feature story for House & Garden on the Lauren home Round Hill in Jamaica [House & Garden October, 1984] , which had formerly been the home of Babe and Bill Paley. [Domino magazine's "Editor's Pick - Babe Paley, featuring a photo of Paley at her Round Hill Villa in Jamaica [http://www.dominomag.com/galleries/edspicks/babepaley online] retrieved September 25, 2007]

Sometime in early 1987, Lauren was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor. In April of that year, he underwent surgery to remove the tumor, and recovered well. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE0D61631F935A25757C0A961948260]

On June 11, 1997, Polo Ralph Lauren became a public company, traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RL.

Ralph and his wife, Ricky, have two sons and a daughter: Andrew Lauren (b. 1969 in New York City, New York), David Lauren (b. 1971) and Dylan Lauren (b. May 1974 in New York City). David is an executive at Polo Ralph Lauren and Dylan owns and operates an upscale candy store, Dylan's Candy Bar, at 59th Street and Third Avenue in Manhattan. Ricky appeared on the television show Martha on December 10th 2006 and stated that her son Andrew is in the "movie business".

In 2003, Lauren's nephew Greg Lauren announced his engagement to actress Elizabeth Berkley. Lauren designed and created outfits for the entire wedding party (including Berkley's wedding dress) to wear. Berkley wore a silk sheath dress with pearled spaghetti straps while Lauren wore a white tuxedo jacket and a black bow tie. [ [http://www.lovetripper.com/bridalstars/wedding-database/elizabeth-berkley-lauren.html Elizabeth Berkley and Greg Lauren Wedding ] ]

Lauren is the subject of several biographies (written by Jeffrey Trachtenberg, Michael Gross and Colin MacDowell).

Lauren is also well known as a collector of classic automobiles. His cars have won best in show at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance multiple times. His collection was recently displayed at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

By 2007 Ralph Lauren had over 35 boutiques in United States. There were 23 locations that carried Ralph Lauren Purple Label, including Atlanta, Beverly Hills, Boston, Charlotte, Wisconsin Avenue, Chicago, Costa Mesa, Dallas Denver, Honolulu, Houston, Las Vegas, Manhasset, New York, Palm Beach, Palo Alto, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Short Hills, Troy, Orlando, Florida, Naples Florida, and Washington DC. commonscat|Ralph Lauren car collection

Ralph Lauren in popular culture

In the NBC television sitcom "Friends", Rachel worked for Ralph Lauren's corporate office in the final two seasons, and the climax of the final episode involved Rachel deciding whether to take a job in Paris or stay at Ralph Lauren in New York. Ralph Lauren played himself during the show.

In the book series "The Clique" by Lisi Harrison, Ralph Lauren was mentioned throughout the book series by the character Alicia Rivera.

In the anime ZZ Gundam, during episode 18, Judau's sister tries to escape from her captive, Glemy Toto, using a changing room in a Ralph Lauren store and waits for him to be distracted when she runs.

References

External links

* [http://www.ralphlauren.com/ Ralph Lauren Web Site]
* [http://www.ralphlaurenhome.com/ Ralph Lauren Home]
* [http://fashion-forum.org/fashion-designers/ralph-lauren.html Ralph Lauren - Biography]
* [http://www.infomat.com/whoswho/ralphlauren.html Who's Who of Fashion Designer biography of Ralph Lauren]
* [http://www.mgross.com/books/genuine-authentic/ Unauthorized Biography site]
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* [http://www.mensvogue.com/business/articles/2007/09/ralph_lauren "Men's Vogue" profile of Ralph Lauren]

Persondata
NAME=Lauren, Ralph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Lifschitz, Ralph
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American fashion designer and business executive
DATE OF BIRTH=October 14, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH=The Bronx, New York, United States
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=