Ralph Lauren began his career as a designer in 1967 with the innovative line of wide ties that sparked the “wide-tie revolution” – and marked the beginning of the Polo Label. The following year he created his first Men's Collection. At a time when it was customary to separate the different garments in men's wardrobes, Ralph Lauren had the idea of bringing them together as part of a broader concept. Two years later, in 1969, Ralph Lauren revolutionised the concept of retail sales by opening his first “store within a store” at Bloomingdale's, one of New York's largest and oldest department stores.
In 1972, an entire women's line, including a full range of sportswear, was launched at the first Ralph Lauren women's fashion show.
Lauren's vision of overall design also led him to create his range of perfumes in 1978, simultaneously releasing men's and women's versions. Ralph Lauren innovated once again by launching the Ralph Lauren Home range in 1983. This was a historic event: the first time that a clothes designer had launched a complete collection for the home.
In 1997, Polo Ralph Lauren, the small store founded exactly 30 years earlier, was floated on the New York Stock Exchange as a multinational.
In 2009 Ralph Lauren started its watch business, in partnership with the Richemont Group, and presented his first collections of watches at the International Fine Watchmaking Show in Geneva. Thanks to this partnership, the Ralph Lauren watchmaking brand has brought out high-quality timepieces with Swiss Made movements.
