Lauren Christopher Popular Books

Lauren Christopher Biography & Facts

Ralph Lauren (; LOR-ən; né Lifshitz; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for founding the brand Ralph Lauren, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He has become well known for his collection of rare automobiles, some of which have been displayed in museum exhibits. He stepped down as CEO of the company in September 2015 but remains executive chairman and chief creative officer. As of April 2024, his net worth was estimated at US$8.8 billion. Early life Lauren was born on October 14, 1939, in the Bronx, New York City, to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants Frieda (Cutler) and Frank Lifshitz, an artist and house painter, from Pinsk, Second Polish Republic (now Belarus). His mother was from Drahichyn, Belarus. The youngest of four siblings, he has two brothers and one sister. At the age of 16, he his brother George Poitras Lauren legally changed their second names from Lifshitz to Lauren, due to bullying at school. His choice of the name followed his older brother Jerry Lauren, who had first done so after experiencing bullying in the U.S. Air Force. Lauren attended day school followed by the Manhattan Talmudical Academy, before eventually graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1957. He attended Baruch College of the City University of New York (CUNY), where he studied business, although he dropped out after two years. He was one of several design leaders raised in the Jewish community in the Bronx, along with Calvin Klein and Robert Denning. Career Early career From 1962 to 1964 Lauren served in the United States Army. After his discharge, he worked briefly for Brooks Brothers as a sales assistant before becoming a salesman for Rivetz, a necktie company. At age 28, working for tie manufacturer Beau Brummell, Lauren convinced the company president to let him start his own line. He launched The Ralph Lauren Corporation in 1967 with men's ties. Polo Drawing on his interests in sports, Lauren named his first full line of menswear 'Polo' in 1968. He worked out of a single "drawer" from a showroom in the Empire State Building and made deliveries to stores himself. By 1969, the Manhattan department store Bloomingdale's sold Lauren's men's line exclusively. It was the first time that Bloomingdale's had given a designer their own in-store boutique. 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. The first full women's collection was launched the following year. In 1971 Lauren also opened a store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California; this was the first freestanding store for an American designer. In 1972, the Ralph Lauren Corporation introduced a signature cotton mesh Polo shirt in various colors. Featuring the polo player logo at the chest, the shirt became emblematic of the preppy look—one of Ralph Lauren's signature styles. The tagline for the ad campaign was: "Every team has its color – Polo has seventeen." In 1974, he outfitted the male cast of the film The Great Gatsby in costumes from his Polo line – a 1920s-style series of men's suits and sweaters, except for the pink suit which Lauren designed especially for Robert Redford's Jay Gatsby. In 1977, Diane Keaton and Woody Allen wore Lauren's clothes throughout Allen's film Annie Hall. Fragrance The first Ralph Lauren fragrances, produced by Warner-Lauren, Ltd. were launched at Bloomingdale's in March 1978. Lauren, a fragrance for women, on March 12 and Polo, cologne for men, on March 26. This was the first time that a designer had introduced two fragrances – one for men and one for women – simultaneously. The company 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. Later 20th century Ralph Lauren opened his first flagship in the Rhinelander mansion, on Madison Avenue and 72nd Street in New York City in 1986. Lauren re-created the building's original opulence with a young design consultant named Naomi Leff, with whom he had previously worked on Ralph Lauren Home. The Polo Sport line was introduced in 1992 followed by over ten additional lines and acquired brands, including Ralph Lauren Purple Label in 1995 and Lauren Ralph Lauren in 1996. On June 12, 1997, the company became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. The 98-seat restaurant "RL" opened in March 1999 in Chicago in a newly constructed building adjacent to the largest Ralph Lauren store at the corner of Chicago and Michigan Avenues. It was followed by the opening of two additional restaurants – "Ralph's" at 173 Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris flagship store in 2010 and "The Polo Bar" at Polo's flagship in New York in 2015. Later years In 2000 the company launched polo.com as its website and online shop, through RL Media (a cooperation between Ralph Lauren and NBC). In 2007, Ralph Lauren Corporation acquired the NBC share of RL Media and the web site was relaunched as ralphlauren.com. In 2008, Ralph Lauren Corporation launched a brand called American Living, exclusively for JCPenney. It was the largest cross-category brand launch in the history of Ralph Lauren and JCPenney. On September 29, 2015, it was announced that Stefan Larsson would replace the company's founder, Ralph Lauren, as CEO in November. Lauren will stay on as executive chairman and chief creative officer. Lauren has appeared on over 100 magazine covers including Architectural Digest, GQ, Forbes, Town & Country, TIME and Vogue. Lauren celebrated the 50th anniversary of his brand in a fashion show at Bethesda Terrace in Central Park on September 8, 2018. Attendees included Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, Kanye West, Robert DeNiro, and Jessica Chastain. Personal life Family On December 20, 1964, Lauren married Ricky Ann Loew-Beer in New York City. She is the daughter of Margaret Vytouch and Rudolph Loew-Beer. The two had met six months earlier, in a doctor's office where she was working as a receptionist; on alternate days, she was teaching dance. She is the author of The Hamptons: Food, Family and History. The Laurens are members of the Park Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan, leading the synagogue's capital campaign that ended in 2019. They have three children: Andrew Lauren (b. 1969), a film producer and actor; David Lauren (b. 1971), an executive vice president at Ralph Lauren Corporation; and Dylan Lauren (b. 1974). In September 2011, David married Lauren Bush, granddaughter of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush. Lauren and David have three children and live in Manhattan. Dylan Lauren, owner of Dylan's Candy Bar in New York City, was married in June 2011 to hedge fund manager Paul Arrouet. Dylan and Paul had twins on April 13, 2015, via surrogate in New York City. In April 1987, Ralph Lauren underwent s.... Discover the Lauren Christopher popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Lauren Christopher books.