{"id":5356,"date":"2020-01-22T01:15:33","date_gmt":"2020-01-22T01:15:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookipistg.wpengine.com\/university\/?p=2965"},"modified":"2025-05-30T23:28:41","modified_gmt":"2025-05-31T04:28:41","slug":"ralph-lauren-success-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookipi.com\/es\/business\/ralph-lauren-success-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Ralph Lauren: His Story of Success"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photo By Arnaldo Anaya-Lucca – Arnaldo Anaya-Lucca, CC BY-SA 3.0, License<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Arabella Walton<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fashion designer Ralph Lauren (n\u00e9e Ralph Lifshitz) was born in 1939 in the Bronx, New York City. Lauren was raised by his parents, Frank and Fraydl. The couple were Jewish immigrants from Europe and had four children including Ralph. Lauren grew up in small quarters, having to share a room with his two brothers but had what he describes as a happy childhood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a teenager, Ralph was known for his unique sense of style. He was drawn to old-time elegance mixed with classic preppy style. He found inspiration in the personal style of Hollywood icons such as Fred Astaire and Cary Grant. Due to his deep love of clothes, Lauren needed a job to fund his passion and thus, got a part-time job to fund his interest in fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After graduating high school, Ralph went on to study business at Baruch College in Manhattan for two years before dropping out after discovering business wasn\u2019t his passion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lauren\u2019s life changed drastically when he was drafted in 1962. He went on to work in the United States Army for two years before beginning his journey in the fashion industry. Upon his return from the army in 1964, Ralph married Ricky Anne Loew-Beer and the couple had three children. They’ll celebrate 56 years of marriage this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lauren has always emphasised the importance of having a dream. Lauren once commented on how he was often questioned about what influenced his designs. He stated, \u201cPeople ask how can a Jewish kid from the Bronx do preppy clothes? Does it have to do with class and money? It has to do with dreams.\u201d Throughout Lauren\u2019s business journey he has consistently proved that you do not need to come from money to achieve your dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ralph Lauren began his career with the simple goal of creating clothes he wanted to wear. He was unhappy with the style of men\u2019s clothing at the time and decided to design clothes for himself. He officially turned his passion for fashion into a career with a sales job at the Brooks Brother in New York at the age of 24. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ralph Lauren Corporation began in 1967 when Ralph released his own line of men\u2019s ties. He credits the success of the ties to their difference from other ties on the market at the time, describing them as \u201cwide and unusual.\u201d Ralph went from store to store selling his ties as well as selling them from a draw in the Empire State Building in New York City. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As his success began to grow, Ralph grew his passion further and launched a clothing line. He created Polo, a brand that not only sold clothes but also a lifestyle. When discussing the Ralph Lauren brand, Lauren stated, \u201cThe clothes that I design and everything I\u2019ve done is about life and how people live and how they want to live and how they dream they\u2019ll live. That\u2019s what I do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In relation to his designs, Lauren described the style of the Polo clothing line as \u201ctweedy English-American look with a French cut.\u201d The 1970s were a prosperous time for the Ralph Lauren brand with Lauren introducing the women\u2019s collection as well as the brand’s signature cotton polo shirt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ralph Lauren Corporation has evolved from the Polo line and transformed into a true lifestyle brand, now offering Ralph Lauren products in four different categories including apparel, home, accessories, and fragrances.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his career, Lauren has also designed the USA Olympic uniforms numerous times as well as designing the costumes for popular movies, including Annie Hall and The Great Gatsby (1974). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ralph Lauren is one of the worlds most successful fashion designers with a net worth of over $6 billion. From his humble beginning as a young boy from the Bronx, Lauren grew into an international household name through hard work, determination and the pursuit of his dream. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charity work <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Throughout his lifetime, Ralph Lauren has established himself as a philanthropist. During the 1980s, Lauren was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Fortunately, he was able to have the tumour removed before any damage was done and made a full recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likely as a result of his personal experience suffering from a brain tumour, the majority of Lauren\u2019s charity support focuses on cancer research and treatment. Lauren co-founded Georgetown University\u2019s Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research in 1989 and has since gone on to work with various cancer research charities such as the Pink Pony Campaign, the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention in Harlem and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Lauren is truly worthy of the label, he dislikes being called a philanthropist as he views his charity work as \u201cmore coming from the heart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story is a part of Bookipi\u2019s<\/a> new series about inspiring entrepreneurs. We hope this series will help motivate you to achieve your dreams like the successful entrepreneurs in this series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Information has been sourced from:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n