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Ralph Lauren
Founded by Ralph Lauren in 1967 with a line of men's neckties, the American Maison evolved from the Polo brand into a global lifestyle business known worldwide for the Polo Player emblem, the mesh Polo shirt and an aesthetic anchored in classic Americana, equestrian sport and aspirational heritage.
Key-Facts
Founded
1967
Logo
Industry
Fashion
Headquarters
USA
Color
#0033a0
Brand Chronology
Staple items: Why every category has its brand-defining product (2026)
Ralph Lauren dresses Team USA for the Paris 2024 opening ceremony (2024)
Ralph Lauren dresses Team USA for the Paris 2024 opening ceremony
2024
Ralph Lauren outfits Team USA for the Paris 2024 opening ceremony, marking the ninth Olympic outfitting in the partnership.
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Ralph Lauren stages a 50th anniversary in Central Park (2018)
Ralph Lauren stages a 50th anniversary in Central Park
2018
On 7 September 2018, Ralph Lauren marks the brand's fiftieth anniversary with a runway and dinner at Central Park's Bethesda Terrace.
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Ralph Lauren releases Postcards from Paradise by Bruce Weber for Spring 2016 (2016)
Ralph Lauren releases Postcards from Paradise by Bruce Weber for Spring 2016
2016
Ralph Lauren and Bruce Weber released Postcards from Paradise in April 2016, a black-and-white French Riviera film for the Spring collection.
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Ralph Lauren opens Ralph's Coffee on Fifth Avenue (2014)
Ralph Lauren opens Ralph's Coffee on Fifth Avenue
2014
Ralph Lauren extended the Polo aesthetic into a coffee shop on the second floor of the new Fifth Avenue flagship in October 2014.
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Polo Ralph Lauren introduces the Polo Bear (1991)
Polo Ralph Lauren introduces the Polo Bear
1991
In 1991, Ralph Lauren turns a birthday Steiff bear into the Polo Bear, an icon embroidered onto sweaters that sold out almost immediately.
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Ralph Lauren opens the Rhinelander Mansion as the Polo flagship (1986)
Ralph Lauren opens the Rhinelander Mansion as the Polo flagship
1986
Ralph Lauren transformed the 1898 Gertrude Rhinelander Waldo House into the first designer-led department-store-scale flagship.
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Bruce Weber defines Polo Ralph Lauren's lifestyle advertising (1984)
Bruce Weber defines Polo Ralph Lauren's lifestyle advertising
1984
From the early 1980s, Bruce Weber's narrative campaigns turn Polo Ralph Lauren into the defining example of lifestyle advertising.
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Ralph Lauren and The Great Gatsby: how a film tailored a brand (1974)
Ralph Lauren and The Great Gatsby: how a film tailored a brand
1974
Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby in chalkstripe and pink wool: Polo Ralph Lauren stepped onto the American style canon in 1974.
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Logo Design (1971)
Logo Design
1971
The iconic polo player logo of Polo Ralph Lauren emerged almost by accident in 1971, when Ralph Lauren noticed a mounted rider pattern while selecting tie fabrics for a charity event. The image later appeared on women’s shirt cuffs before expanding across the brand’s collections.
The emblem featured a black silhouette of a polo rider on horseback, captured mid-swing with raised mallet, conveying elegance and motion. Beneath it, the “RALPH LAUREN” wordmark appeared in a refined serif typeface inspired by classic styles such as Didot and Bodoni.
Polo Ralph Lauren introduces the Polo Player emblem (1971)
Polo Ralph Lauren introduces the Polo Player emblem
1971
In 1971, Ralph Lauren introduces the Polo Player emblem on women's tailored shirts, debuting an icon that anchors the brand worldwide.
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Ralph Lauren launches Polo with men's neckties (1967)
Ralph Lauren launches Polo with men's neckties
1967
In 1967, Ralph Lauren launches Polo with a line of wide men's neckties from a single drawer in the Empire State Building.
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Staple items: Why every category has its brand-defining product
2026