Ralph Lauren

America's leading designer in the classic tradition, Ralph Lauren grew up in the Bronx, son of a Russian immigrant mural painter. He showed a flair for fashion while still in his teens and earned his first commission at age 15, designing warm-up jackets for his baseball team. He dropped out of college at 22 and became a tie salesman. In 1967 he broke with the prevailing fashion for dark, narrow ties and launched his own line, Polo, introducing unprecedented color and variety to men' s fashion. He quickly progressed to a complete line of Polo menswear, and moved on to womenswear, boyswear, girlswear, fragrances and home furnishings, all part of a unified vision, exemplified by his flagship store, a sumptuously restored mansion on New York's Madison Avenue. He has built hundreds of Polo stores around the world, and continues to defy trends and fads to remain true to his own vision of freedom, comfort and timeless elegance.