Ralph Lauren is a major name in fashion these days. So much so that it’s hard to imagine the fashion landscape without his influence. But he wasn’t always set for success. Lauren has struggled with adversity, and apparently his own temper, to achieve his foothold in fashion, and it took a long time before the brand was both a household name and a viable business, due to some poor decisions on the part of its founder and some bad luck too.

In 1939 the Lifshitz family received a new member by the name of Ralph. This modest Jewish family lived in the same quarter of the Bronx that fostered Calvin Klein, so there must have been something in the water. Ralph wasn’t the same kind of charismatic hero that Calvin’s known to be though. His early life was marked by incessant bullying which eventually drove him to change his name, to the now eponymous Lauren. To be fair to him, it is hard to picture Lifshitz looking as good on a polo shirt.

Lauren was supposed to be a Rabbi, but he became interested in fashion from an early age, and despite pressure from his family to choose otherwise he eventually threw himself into the designing world. He was not a success. He’d chosen to emulate classic and already established preppy ideal, taken from exclusive country club wear, but his additions of strange materials and exaggerated features such as wide ties were not popular with sixties tastes.

It was actually Lauren’s own image that saved his clothing line. People began to talk about the bad tempered dandy designer and his unique neckwear to an extent that he managed to secure investors for a new line of men and women’s suits. Stores like Sak’s picked up on the line, and he made a lot of money, finally. However, his business sense was against him. He chose to open much-talked about, but hardly profitable stores that used lavish setups to make customers feel as if they were walking through a private mansion or club house. The endeavour was too costly, and held the company back until the 80s, when Lauren’s signature polo shirts exploded onto the fashion scene and made a runaway fortune.

Now we have a brand that’s known worldwide, and a business that’s a little more controlled in the hands of skilful management.

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