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Let's Get Dressed
The World of Ralph Lauren: How One Brand Has Shaped American Style for 60 Years
00:35:26
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- [00:02]
A
Hi, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of let's Get Dressed. It's your host, Liv Perez. Today's episode, we are doing things a little bit differently because I have been wanting to do an episode series for a while now where we pick one brand and deep dive into it. And I thought that there was no better brand to pick this series off with than Ralph Lauren. Ralph Lauren is one of those rare brands that has not just set fashion Trends for over 60 years. It has permeated culture across the board. Think about it. We've seen Ralph Lauren on Friends. We've seen Ralph Lauren at Wimbledon. Ralph Lauren is basically everywhere. So I wanted to bring on an expert today to talk about how and why that's happened. How this brand has maintained its relevancy, and not just relevancy, extreme popularity over 60 years and become one of the biggest fashion houses in the world. It's also one of the only fashion brands that still has its main designer at the helm and continues to not only attract its core audience, but is also doing such an incredible job of appealing towards Gen Z. And there is no better expert than the one and only Bridget Foley. So I'm so excited to have her on Today. She was an editor at WWD for over a decade where she had a front row seat to all things Ralph Lauren and even got to interview him herself. She also just wrote all of the text for Ralph Lauren's new coffee table book, Catwalk, and has such extensive knowledge of every Runway show that has happened since 1972. It was such an honor to talk to her honestly. She had so many stories and such extensive knowledge. I loved getting to learn from her and I know you guys are going to as well. I'm thinking of making this a series. I would love to know if you guys love this episode or not and if there are other brands you want me to cover. I feel like it could be a fun way to get to know about the history and context of some of our favorite brands. And a little surprise for you guys. We're going to be doing a giveaway of the new Ralph Lauren Catwalk book. It is, again, so beautiful. The ultimate gift. I love it so much and have loved having it in my home. So if you want to enter to win, make sure you head to my Instagram today. It's Liv Perez with two Vs. Make sure you're following me there and make sure you're following let's Get Dressed Pod on Instagram as well. All the details to enter to win will be live on that page today. As always, if you love today's episode, make sure you leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Let's go get dressed with Bridget Foley. Welcome to the podcast, Bridget.
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B
Thank you so much, Liv. I am so happy to be here. Thank you for having me.
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A
I'm thrilled to have you. You're an icon in this industry and we're just so thrilled to be able to hear from you.
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B
That's very sweet. Thank you.
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A
How's your day going?
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B
My day is going beautifully. It's beautiful out there. Nice crisp air. Love it.
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A
The LA girl in me was a little cold this morning.
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B
The New York girl in me was a little cold this morning. But I like that.
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A
It seems like everybody is thrilled, though, because I know it's been very cold. So I'm happy that you guys are getting a little bit of warmer weather.
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B
We're looking forward to spring.
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A
I know.
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B
Real spring.
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A
Real spring. It'll be here soon. I love coming to New York in spring because you walk through the streets and you have those tiny little planters at the bottom of trees where the tulips are growing in. And it's like that one spark of joy that spring is coming.
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B
One spark of joy. But you also see if you hit the trees, the flowering trees at the right moment, they're gorgeous, stunning. But it's also funny when spring is coming to New York because there'll be certain days when you go out and there will be people in parkas and people in tank tops.
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A
Yes.
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B
You know, and it.
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A
And you can never tell.
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B
No one looks wrong and no one looks hot or cold. It's very interesting. The fashion scene at that moment is very interesting.
- [03:22]
A
It's incredible. So today we are talking about one of my favorite brands in the world and a brand that you have had a very front row seat to see evolve over the last few decades. You were an editor at WWD for over a decade.
- [03:36]
B
You are very kind to put it that way. Over a decade. Yes.
- [03:38]
A
And you have a personal relationship with Ralph himself. You know, you see brands that influence culture. Right. But it's rare to find a brand that actually completely defines culture and the way that people engage with it. And so I'd love to hear from you from your perspective of having written for so long and having a front row seat not just to this brand, but to so many. What to you really defines a brand that you can tell is going to have immense longevity and one that isn't
- [04:01]
B
first and foremost, the founding designer has to have a very, very clear vision, a strong message and has to realize that message number one. And that message has to resonate because you can have what you think is a great idea, and it can be very, very clear and very distinctive. And if it doesn't resonate with the people you're trying to reach, then that's not going to work. The most important thing after that, and the most difficult thing for a designer, I think, is to stay true to the self, to live the vision and the aesthetic of while staying current with the culture. That is a very, very difficult thing to do, even over the short term, let alone over decades. And that's what Ralph Lauren has done so, so brilliantly.
- [04:44]
A
You obviously have a relationship with Ralph, but you've been covering the brand for so many years. You've written all the text for this incredible new book, which I've had a chance to look through and is so beautiful.
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B
Thank you.
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A
This is one of those books that I can't wait to have on my coffee table forever and just flip through. I think it's going to be one of those books that I, like, have open, and sometimes I'll decide what show,
- [05:04]
B
what show, what page house guest get
- [05:06]
A
to see on any given day. But I would love to hear from you. I feel like I have very visceral memories of kind of my early days falling in love with Ralph and moments of pop culture where it kind of seeped into my consciousness. What was your kind of first meet cute with Ralph Lauren as a brand?
- [05:22]
B
As a brand, my first meet cute was early on. I mean, it's kind of like, when did I learn that Santa brings presence? Ralph Lauren became incredible, very famous very early. So by the time I got to fashion, he was already. He was still young, but he was already very famous and even approaching legendary status for the way he had achieved that fame and the way he had expanded the company. And so I, you know, I came to fashion knowing about him in that sense. When I started covering the major shows for Women's Wear Daily, that opened up a whole new aspect for it for me personally. The first. My personal resonance came, I think, the first time I sat down in an interview with him. And I thought, this man is who and what he projects to be authentic. It's authentic. It's not a shtick. It's real, it's genuine, it's deep. And I really, really respected that so much from the beginning. And it's also. He's authentic as a creator and as he calls himself a storyteller. He doesn't like the word designer. He calls Himself a storyteller, and he's a genuine and brilliant storyteller in the narrative arcs he constructs and brings to us. But he's also. When you are sitting to him and talking to him, you get the sense that this is a genuinely good guy and a guy who believes in the life presented, in the beautiful imagery. He. He believes that we can live by our better angels, and you really get that sense. I know it sounds so schmaltzy, but it is absolutely true. And that's, I think, one of the things that resonates so powerfully with Ralph across generations, that authenticity. And it's an authenticity baseline about a belief that we can live well and respectfully and as a community.
- [07:10]
A
Ralph Lauren, I feel like, does not sit down for interviews a lot. What was that like?
- [07:15]
B
So special. So special. When you're sitting with Ralph, you are the only person in his world. He's not doing this. He's not, you know, looking to get out. And that was when I was very young, the first time, early on in my interviewing relationship. I've had the honor to interview him many, many times. But I remember that first time. It was so, you know, so impressive because not everyone treats a journalist they don't know in that way. And it was quite impressive. And it's also quite impressive because he really doesn't like talking about himself. It's funny to say for someone who has reached his level of fame and his level of fame beyond fashion, but I really think he doesn't love talking about himself.
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A
What do you think that does to a designer? And I know he doesn't even like to call himself that, but I wonder what you think, how that impacts the brand itself and the success of it.
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B
I think that at the same time, his life is so central to the brand from day one. There's this very interesting dichotomy. One of the tenets of Ralph Lauren's design ethos is contradiction. Masculine, feminine, rugged, refined, such and such. But if you look at his pool of inspiration, it's bifurcated. As a kid, he became obsessed with the movies. He was obsessed with sports and obsessed with the movies. And he started to imagine himself as the characters he saw in the movies at the. I love the name of his local theater, the Tuxedo Theater. Oh, how great. Isn't that so fitting?
- [08:49]
A
I love it. So fitting.
- [08:51]
B
So there were all of these sort of these inspirational characters that he was moved by, and that resonated with him at the same time when he started his company. So really, Ralph is in a Very real sense, his own customer. He's his first customer. And so that's, you know, whether he talks about himself or doesn't talk about himself, that is a very real aspect of the world and the business and the empire he has built. He has built it because he has felt the need for A, B, C, D and E. And then he's created that.
- [09:26]
A
Today's episode is presented by depop. If you know me, you know I am big on a closet reset. I genuinely think that when your closet feels organized, your brain and life does too. So how many things are in your closet right now that you have loved when you bought them? Maybe you wore them once or twice, but now they are just sitting there. Here's something that I have realized. That random vintage blazer or dress that you bought for that birthday or dinner, someone is searching for that example exact vibe right now. And that's why I love depop. It's a resale app where you can buy and sell fashion. But what makes it feel different is how easy it is to actually list something. You literally snap a photo and their AI powered listing fills in the details. It gives you smart pricing, suggestions you can accept, offers boost listings, and it takes what feels overwhelming and makes it feel like a very low lift. Also, the no seller fees. So if you're clearing out one bag, five pairs of jeans, or doing a full closet edit, what you earn is actually yours. So download the Depop app and list one thing that you're not wearing today. You might be surprised at how fast it finds a new home. I appreciate the distinction between designer and storyteller because I think for his world specifically, that is incredibly apt. There are so many different pillars that make this world work. I think the fact that it's permeated so many different parts of culture. You hear it in music, you hear it in, you see it in sports. It's so many different areas to you. What do you think are the moments that feel the most successful in the world of Ralph? Like, what are the moments that have allowed this brand to supersede the fashion industry?
- [11:00]
B
Well, I think from day one, he did not see himself as a quote, unquote, fashion designer. It's not that, oh, I want to make, you know, pretty dresses or I want to make smart suits. I want to make what is necessary for people's lives. And this so sets him apart from the luxury world, I think. And I think it's an area where he doesn't really get credit because from day one, Ralph Lauren, he didn't call Himself a lifestyle brand from day one. He just. That term was not in use in 1967 when he launched the company, but that's what he was doing from the beginning. Ralph Lauren always saw a legitimacy and a value in clothes for our entire lives. So from the very, very beginning, he put casual clothes on the Runway. He put sport on the Runway. Back then, shows did not tend to be the one note or the one message concept that we have today. I think it's fall 1981. He did this huge section with clothes for active, for sport on the Runway. He had introduced sport earlier, but it had been of the patrician sort, the. Inspired by, you know, British riding, the equestrian look. This time it was hiking and, you know, hiking and fishing, and all of these clothes inspired by real activity. And so there was that concept of not only creating those clothes, but. But honoring those clothes with a Runway treatment that nobody else did for years. That show foretold his launch of polo sport, which he also put on the Runway a couple of times, including one where Bridget Moynihan opened the show by rollerblading down the Runway.
- [12:43]
A
Fun.
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B
Isn't that fun? And so. And they were. And it was not like a separate polo sports show. Ralph showed polo sport and then the collection. But the idea that clothes for function, clothes for utility are on the same par with clothes for dressing up is a very Ralph Lauren idea.
- [13:02]
A
I mean, one of my favorite interviews that he's done that I think of is I forget who he was sitting with, but they had asked what he was wearing, and he was like, I think this is from Kmart.
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B
Oh, isn't that great? Yeah, that's a great.
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A
He's done such an incredible job of making the everyday feel aspirational but not out of touch.
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B
Well, that's the magic. It's this item called the polo shirt. Who doesn't love it? It's attractive, but it's smart. It's utilitarian. And what's great about it, I can make it. Me and you can make it. You. We can all wear it and use it and make it our own, and it lasts, and it functions. And one of the early, early discoveries of Ralph, again, going back to his Marshalu Parkway days, he had an interesting arrival to his fashion awareness. Because as a kid growing up, he didn't really know that fashion designers existed. He didn't aspire to be a fashion designer at that point. But through his life, he came to realize that he had something to say about style. From the movies, he became obsessed with the elegance of Fred Astaire, Cary Grant. So all those things kind of coalesced. But also he was a hand me down kid. He was the youngest of four and with two older brothers. So he had got a lot of hand me downs and a lot of kids might be, oh, he liked it. He wound up having an. Developing an affinity for the used, the worn, the much loved. And again, that's something that was very, very early in terms of a. He brought that to the Runway early in terms of the fashion presence. You know, other people were not doing that. He tells the story of his mother telling him to not put on his brother's ripped jeans. And he thought they were cool. He also developed in that time his sort of interest in vintage and his interest in things that not only that look old, but that are old. I think he started going to a vintage store with his brother Jerry, and that's where he discovered uniforms. Army, Navy. He loved them for two reasons. Their function, they are closed, built and made, designed and constructed for utility. And he also loved what they represented in military. They represented valor. In sports, they represented the work ethic. And he's thinking of in sports, in his reality, that primary association was the Yankees. So they represented winning. That's why I think, in a very real sense, I think that Ralph Lauren and or Ralph Laurens and aesthetic is probably the most well known designer aesthetic in the world. Because it's not just about a high end look, it's about a whole world. It literally is about a world. And that world goes from the black tie events, from the tuxedo and gown events, to the ripped jeans and to, you know, the, the military jackets and to a leather jacket thrown over a pair of jeans to all walks of life. But they're all instantly Ralph Lauren and instantly recognizable as Ralph Lauren.
- [16:03]
A
What are some codes to you that you feel have like permeated time and just been so kind of true to Ralph?
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B
Well, clearly the contradiction, the high and the low, but also just the, you know, rugged, refined. Often in concert, he tells the story that he didn't love going to black. He's never been very social. He's always been of a homebody than going out every night of the week. Even when Studio 54 was. He was young and Studio 54 was all the rage and designers were going all the time. That wasn't Ralph's thing. Nevertheless, he's, you know, he goes out and when he would go to the requisite black tie things. He didn't love tuxedos, the full look for himself initially. And then once he went out with a tuxedo jacket over jeans and he loved it. He felt great.
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A
It became iconic.
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B
It became iconic. It became iconic. And it's a look we see now on the red carpet. And I don't know that when, you know, if Timothy Cholet, for example, dresses that way. I don't know if he's thinking of. This is, you know, Ralph Lauren did this years ago. There are looks that are so ingrained in the culture that we don't know necessarily where they came from.
- [17:04]
A
How much do you think the lifestyle elements of it have really played a role in the. The growth of the brand? I remember when some. My. One of my favorite documentaries, one of my comfort watches is very Ralph. It is something I turn on when I just want to go to another world. And preferably Ralph's world absolutely plays a
- [17:24]
B
role because again, it's Ralph designing for the lifestyle, you know, and. And he has said over and over, I mean, he is very lucky. He has multiple homes and each home is decorated differently. They are in different locations and. And there's a different vibe to them. He goes to each for different reasons. He said something along the lines of, I love the ranch so much. I think sometimes I could live here, but that if I lived here, I wouldn't have. I wouldn't have the unwind, the unwind factor that I have here. Paraphrasing, but that's the gist. Ralph has also always said that he likes the concept of dressing to characters. Another sort of one of the contradictions is the concept of authenticity. And yet dressing to be a role or dressing for a role. But we all do that. We don't wake up every day and feel the same way. And we don't every time we leave the house. It's not to go to a like situation. So we are sort of playing different. Our own different characters or dressing for our own different roles. That's where the lifestyle element came from. You know, I feel this way today and I feel I may feel that way tomorrow, but also I am. I have different activities and I have different reasons to dress differently.
- [18:34]
A
I mean, if I think of a scroll of my TikTok in one day, it's. I finally got a reservation at the Polo Bar.
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B
Not easy. Congratulations.
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A
Congrats. Huge congrats. The next one, a Ralph Lauren inspired nursery for my new son. I see like the Ralph Lauren home. Like, I see all of those things on my feed nonstop. And it's interesting just to see how it's. And then you'll see like, you know, Dressing up to feel very Ralph Lauren today. It's just like a different thing every single time of different points of culture that I think are so crucial to the way that we perceive and interact with the brand every day.
- [19:12]
B
But what's the constant? The constant is that there's an inherent grace and optimism.
- [19:20]
A
Yes.
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B
That I think we all respond to and aspire to, and certainly in the caustic world we live in, want more of.
- [19:30]
A
Right. But what. I'm curious, that optimism towards what? We all have optimism towards something. What do you think the Ralph Lauren optimism is towards? Is it the American dream? What does it feel like for you?
- [19:43]
B
I think the Ralph Lauren optimism is deeply rooted in a genuine sense that at heart, people, we are better than we are, not that we are. That we want to live well and do well. I sort of call it Ralph's belief in living well from the inside out. I think he genuinely believes that that is what most of us want and that is what most of us have the capacity for. But another thing I don't want to sort of overlook in the appeal of the world is that it is also dynamic and exciting and glamorous. It's not just about, you know, sitting around and being elegant. It's about, you know, sports and it's about activity and it's about having fun. And those two things together form this wonderful. They coalesce into this wonderful reality.
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A
I love that. It's such a wonderful way to frame optimism.
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B
What it comes from, again, is the authenticity. This is his belief system. It is not his professional belief system for pushing his brand.
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A
It's.
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B
It is his belief system, the one that he lives by, the one that he lives by in his personal life, and that has crossed over into his professional life, because that's the only belief system he knows.
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A
It's the aspiration of a life well lived.
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B
That's exactly what it is.
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A
So you have had such an unbelievable experience, obviously, having worked so closely to the brand, but also working on this book. I would love to know, what was it like going through the Ralph Lauren archives?
- [21:18]
B
It's a fashion lover's wonderland. You cannot imagine it. It is so incredible. But to say I've gone through the Ralph Lauren archives is inaccurate because there's so much there. You could spend a lifetime going to the Ralph Lauren archives. I mean, it is absolutely incredible. It's. You know, there are two elements. There's the Ralph Lauren section, the Ralph Lauren clothes, and then there are all these historical clothes from all different decades, all different eras, and it is just Incredible. You go in and you can just lose yourself. You can just. And it's so impeccably organized. It is this gorgeous. Again, it's a dreamland.
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A
It's a dreamland organized by color collection. Take us there.
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B
It's organized by theme, and then within the theme, sometimes by items, sometimes by color. By. Yes. So everything is just very. When I was doing some work there, I was going, I have no sense of direction. It's a huge space. I had to use the restroom. I came back and I literally. I would be like Hansel and Gretel. Okay.
- [22:19]
A
I turn following the breadcrumbs.
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B
I turn at the red flannel shirts. I mean, seriously. And it's just impeccably organized. But then there's this tremendous. I mean, it's this huge resource. A huge resource. But there's also very much of a preservation mode going on.
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A
Right.
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B
Another aspect of Ralph Lauren that is very different and I think that he does not get sufficient credit for, is his belief in longevity. He said from day one, again, when he was a very young designer, I want my clothes to look better next year than they do this year. But beyond that, he wasn't only talking about clothes lasting from season to season or year to year, but from generation to generation. He talked about wanting his clothes to be passed down. So there was this concept of sustainability before sustainability was coined into the fashion vernacular. And it's something that he has always lived by, and he's believed in preservation and repurposing in a collection. Again, many, many years ago. And I don't have the date he did. It was an Americana collection, and he did some work with cutter quilts. Cutter quilts are quilts that are no longer useful for household purposes. They're damaged, whatever. And so he made skirts and jackets and vests out of them.
- [23:34]
A
It's interesting to think of that tie in with being the third child and getting the passed down from his older brothers.
- [23:41]
B
You know, that's where it all started, right? That's where it all started.
- [23:43]
A
It's so prevalent today. I mean, I think about the conversations we've had on the podcast in the last year with a lot of brands. We actually had a fashion conservationist on the podcast last year, and we spoke about how a lot of brands are really far behind on the way that they preserve their collections. And Ralph is probably leading the charge on the opposite of that. I'm sure the archive is unbelievable, but it's interesting that I think now more than ever, brands are really interested in buying back their Archive and preserving it almost like a museum.
- [24:11]
B
Well, a long, long time. Brands didn't do that, right. And now so many of them are going back and sourcing things and doing, you know, doing Internet searches. And now, of course, it's a major priority. But it wasn't for a very long time. Luxury came to the whole resale element kind of late. I think you're right. It came from his childhood. It came from the concept of the hand me downs. It's such an interesting mindset that this kid in the Bronx worked that to his advantage, which sounds clinical, but he saw the value and the beauty in it and the appeal. It's a very interesting mindset.
- [24:49]
A
What was the most surprising thing in there?
- [24:50]
B
Oh, my gosh. You know, there are so. That's really hard to say. Cause there are so many. You go here. I mean, I love coats. So I see these. Ralph's own patchwork coats I just love so much. So that's what's really one of my favorite aspects of the archive, is going in and seeing the pieces that are, say, embroidered or fringed or beaded. And to see the way the work is done is extraordinary.
- [25:14]
A
I'm curious for people listening right now who are maybe new to diving into the Ralph world. You've spent so much time working on this book where you've been able to analyze and. And really think deeply and up close about every Runway show and these big moments. What moment would you call back to and say, go look at this show or go look at this moment in Ralph Lauren history. It's going to tell you a lot about this person and this brand.
- [25:38]
B
Perhaps counterintuitively, I might start with the last two collections in the book. I love that spring and fall 2025, which closed the. Which just serendipitously, that's how the timing worked. But I think they're a brilliant one two combination. Because spring 2025 was this extravaganza of joy and celebration out in Bridgehampton. He set it to be shown at sunset and with a riding ring in the background. And there were people using the riding ring. And much of the show there was a polo sport element that was all feisty and fun and bright and colorful. Then there was the more languid part that was soft, a lot of blues that sort of worked in with the sunset. It was so breathtakingly beautiful. It was a very joyful show. I found it personally very emotional, maybe because it said so much about where Ralph is, where he's been and where he's going. And the belief system because it was about family and community and togetherness and enjoying each other. Multi generations, little kids to sort of grandparents age and people just really big smiles and people enjoying themselves and having fun. It was extraordinary. And so you could miss some of the beauty of the clothes. The clothes were great, but you didn't really necessarily take in this gorgeous ombre blue sequined gown that went from palest blue to sort of midnight. It was just extraordinary. But it was more about the mood and the joy. And there were, I think, 100 looks. It was a very, very big show. And it did not feel. Because usually today, a hundred looks, you're like, oh, God, no. This was feisty and quick, and it was wonderful.
- [27:27]
A
I love that you're using the word feisty.
- [27:29]
B
It was. There was a feistiness to it and that. And it was, you know, and at the same time, it was emotional. The next season, he decided to do in terms of presentation, 180 degrees. That had been all about the big picture and the world of. So for fall, he pulled back on the extravagance of presentation and went for a really intimate show in a gallery downtown in Manhattan. And it was all about the clothes and the craft. So I love that juxtaposition of the world and then focusing in on the clothes and the craft. It was a beautiful show.
- [28:04]
A
I felt the same with the 50th anniversary show. I remember seeing that. And I was very young, just had started working in fashion and was like, take me there. I want to be there. But, you know, between the kids and the incorporation of every element of the brand right in Central park, like, it felt that show moved me from a very young age and really instilled a lot in me about what fashion is really about. And I love that you kind of tied that back to the Bridge Hampton show, which is a lot of the times it's 10% about the clothes and the rest about what the world is.
- [28:38]
B
I was not very Young at that 50th anniversary show, and I was mesmerized and moved and transported. It was so beautiful. It was incredible at the end to see everyone coming down the stairs at Bethesda Fountain.
- [28:52]
A
Those images are right there, seared in my brain forever.
- [28:56]
B
And also, though, if you look at the clothes themselves again, going back to the patchwork intricately, in this case, he. Ralph didn't do denim, you know, denim or, you know, chambray and sort of utilitarian fabrics. They looked like they were Renaissance fabrics. And he made them look so casual in an evening gown. That wound up looking casual. But it was a grand gown. It was so extraordinary. Both the mood, the whole atmosphere, but the clothes themselves. That was an extraordinary show. Extraordinary.
- [29:24]
A
So my first Ralph show that I got to attend IRL was earlier, earlier this year in February. And of course, I get. I've talked about this on the show numerous times. I get so emotional at fashion shows. There's something about it. Maybe it's just. I don't know what it is. I actually looked it up once. It's called collective effervescence. And people experience heightened emotions at concerts, shows, moments where people. You feel really part of community and you're all experiencing something really beautiful. So maybe that's why I get kind of weepy at fashion shows. But I, of course, was very moved to be in the space. It was stunning. The collection was beautiful. But when Ralph came out at the end, I think that was. People were so moved. And that was all people could talk about for hours afterwards. Just their energy, the way they are and the energy they bring to a space. And Ralph is one of the only, truly one of the only designers still designing for his own label. And I wonder what you think that consistency and connection to the person really does for a brand.
- [30:28]
B
Well, that heightens the emotion. It continues and deepens the vision and the founding premise and the fact that Ralph has been able to, over all of these years, now almost 60 years, continue to advance it and keep up with the culture. That's the amazing thing, that Ralph has done this while staying fresh and a part of, you know, and a part of the world as it changes, which is why I think it's resonating so powerfully with Gen Z's.
- [30:56]
A
Let's get into the Gen Z part of it, because that is incredibly hard to do. To have a brand with such a strong legacy that has lasted for decades. Not only lasted, thrived, but has very seamlessly not let go of its core consumer, but really attracted Gen Z. Gen Z. The Gen Zs love Ralph Lauren. So what is it? What do you think has really been that key success to bringing them in?
- [31:21]
B
I think it comes back to authenticity. But. But it's not only authenticity. Part of it is that Ralph Laurence always said, I never really want to be in fashion, because if you're in fashion, you're going to be out of fashion. Ralph designs to a philosophy and to a lifestyle and to. And to needs. I mean, the human condition is the human condition. Things. Yeah, obviously things change and our demands change, our requirements change, but there are things that remain constant so he speaks to those things that remain constant, and yet he updates them and freshens them. And he's done this so brilliantly. And Gen Z's and Millennials and, you know, have you pilfered something from your mother's closet? Have you pilfered, you know, non stop? Exactly. And the parental generations of Gen Z's and millennials have polo shirts and they have all this Ralph Lauren, you know, these Ralph Lauren items that their parents loved, but yet you see it and it looks so fresh and new and inviting. And part of it is again, that, that Ralph had. The vision Ralph had at the beginning was for real life, and that's carried through and he's made it. I think a big part of it is his early acknowledgement of the casual aspects of life.
- [32:32]
A
If you put a bunch of Runway photos together, you can sure identify certain moments from certain years. But he's never been someone who follows the trends. No, it's always been a classic look. You can kind of. It's not something where you can easily identify that that's from that one era. And I think that that is, in my mind, brilliant.
- [32:49]
B
Sometimes he has been in sync with the trends, but that's been more of a happenstance, a kismet kind of a thing. And more often than not, he's gone his own way. And I think that that's really what that sets him apart. It intrigues people. Ralph's origin story is probably the most famous origin story definitely in American fashion, possibly in all of fashion. This young man started with ties. He had this idea for ties. And American menswear had been stayed for a very long time. This really, this was revolutionary. He made the ties wider and he made them out of all kinds of different fabrics. The stores love them, save one. Bloomingdale's. And this was a defining moment for Ralph Lauren. Young designer concerned with and focused on a future for his company and building his company. But also he had to have been concerned about keeping a roof over his head. He showed the line to Bloomingdale's and Bloomingdale's said, we love it, Ralph, but we wanna make the ties a little narrower and we wanna put Bloomingdale's label on them. Bloomingdale's private label on them. And he said, no, it is hard to explain how powerful, how much color confidence and how much professional bravery that took.
- [34:04]
A
It's feisty.
- [34:06]
B
It is. You're right. It is feisty. Good word.
- [34:08]
A
I think that story is probably very powerful for Gen Z, but I also think really good product is Power equally as powerful. I don't know a single Gen Z who either doesn't have or lusts after a Polo ID bag. That bag is on every young person's wish list. I see it on my feed all the time.
- [34:28]
B
Do you know the greatest ideas in the world, the most heartfelt ideas that coming from the strongest belief system do not matter if the product isn't there. Product is absolutely the. The. The most important thing. And I love that. Ralph has always said, I'm not a designer. I create worlds. But part of that world, an essential part of the world he creates, is beautiful product that works for, you know, for women, for men, for children, for the home. It's beautiful. It resonates visually, and it lasts. It functions, it has to appeal, and it has to work. His clothes do both. That is the essence of everything.
- [35:09]
A
I think that's the legacy.
- [35:11]
B
I agree. That is the legacy that it is not. You know, he. It really is an inclusive world.
- [35:18]
A
One thing that you and I have talked about a lot when it comes to the Ralph world is that he's always done an amazing job at pointing us in the right direction. Doesn't follow trends, but is almost has, like a sixth sense in a way.
- [35:32]
B
Absolutely. Oh, definitely.
- [35:33]
A
Where do you think he's pointing us next, Liv?
- [35:35]
B
If I knew that, someone would be writing a catwalk block book about me. So I don't know, but I know it will be somewhere compelling and a place that.
- [35:44]
A
And a world that we all want to live in.
- [35:45]
B
A world that we all want to live in.
- [35:47]
A
Definitely. This was truly so fascinating. It is rare that you get to hear from someone who has such an intimate and proximate relationship to a giant like Ralph Lauren. So thank you so much for taking the time and sharing so much of this with us today. It was really so fascinating.
- [36:02]
B
Thank you. I've had such a good time. I'm, you know, honored to be able to talk about Ralph, and I'm delighted to be here with you. Thank you so much.
- [36:08]
A
Of course, Sam.