1. Ralph Lauren is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for founding the brand Ralph Lauren, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise.
31 Facts About Ralph Lauren
1. 2.
Ralph Lauren stepped down as CEO of the company in September 2015 but remains executive chairman and chief creative officer.
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Ralph Lauren's mother was from Drohiczyn, Second Polish Republic.
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At the age of 16, he and his brother George Poitras Ralph Lauren legally changed their last name from Lifshitz to Ralph Lauren, due to bullying at school.
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Ralph Lauren attended day school followed by the Manhattan Talmudical Academy, before eventually graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1957.
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Ralph Lauren attended Baruch College of the City University of New York, where he studied business, although he dropped out after two years.
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Ralph Lauren was one of several design leaders raised in the Jewish community in the Bronx, along with Calvin Klein and Robert Denning.
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From 1962 to 1964 Ralph Lauren served in the United States Army.
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At age 28, working for tie manufacturer Beau Brummell, Ralph Lauren convinced the company president to let him start his own line.
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Ralph Lauren launched The Ralph Lauren Corporation in 1967 with men's ties.
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Ralph Lauren worked out of a single "drawer" from a showroom in the Empire State Building and made deliveries to stores himself.
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In 1971, Ralph Lauren Corporation launched a line of tailored shirts for women, which introduced the Polo player emblem to the world for the first time, appearing on the shirt's cuff.
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In 1971 Ralph Lauren opened a store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California; this was the first freestanding store for an American designer.
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In 1972, the Ralph Lauren Corporation introduced a signature cotton mesh Polo shirt in various colors.
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Ralph Lauren entered the European market, and went international in 1981 with the opening of the first freestanding store for an American designer on New Bond Street in the West End of London, England.
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Ralph Lauren opened his first flagship in the Rhinelander mansion, on Madison Avenue and 72nd Street in New York City in 1986.
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In 2007, Ralph Lauren Corporation acquired the NBC share of RL Media and the web site was relaunched as ralphlauren.
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In 2008, Ralph Lauren Corporation launched a brand called American Living, exclusively for JCPenney.
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Ralph Lauren will stay on as executive chairman and chief creative officer.
20.
Ralph Lauren celebrated the 50th anniversary of his brand in a fashion show at Bethesda Terrace in Central Park on September 8,2018.
21.
On December 20,1964, Ralph Lauren married Ricky Ann Loew-Beer in New York City.
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Ralph Lauren is the author of The Hamptons: Food, Family and History.
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Ralph Lauren owns a 17,000-acre cattle ranch in Ridgway, Colorado, and a 17,000 sq foot manor built in 1919 in Bedford, New York.
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Ralph Lauren is well known as a collector of automobiles, with about 100 automobiles, some being extremely rare.
25.
Ralph Lauren's cars have won "Best of Show" at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance twice, his 1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic won in 1990 and his 1930 Mercedes-Benz SSK "Count Trossi" roadster won in 1993.
26.
Ralph Lauren has focused a substantial amount of his philanthropy to address cancer.
27.
Ralph Lauren served as chairman and created the name and symbol for Fashion Targets Breast Cancer, a charitable initiative of the CFDA that founded in 1994 that marshals the goodwill and services of the fashion industry to raise public awareness and funds for breast cancer internationally.
28.
The center is a collaboration between Ralph Lauren, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, and North General Hospital in Harlem.
29.
In 2014, the Ralph Lauren Corporation partnered with the Royal Marsden, the largest and most comprehensive cancer center in Europe, to develop a world-class breast cancer research facility.
30.
In 2000, the Ralph Lauren Corporation launched its Volunteer Program, which energizes employees and creates meaningful connections with the communities in which they work.
31.
The flag was then unveiled on Wednesday, November 19,2008, in a new gallery at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, in Washington, DC Ralph Lauren Corporation announced in July 2013 its commitment to restore the elite Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, one of the most influential art schools in France.