Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe), 2008

The Kaufhaus des Westens (English "Department Store of the West"), usually abbreviated to KaDeWe) is a department store in Berlin. With over 60,000 square metres of selling space and more than 380,000 articles available, it is the second largest department store in Europe; trumped only by Harrods in London. It attracts 40,000 to 50,000 visitors every day.

The store is located on Tauentzienstraße, a major shopping street, between Wittenbergplatz and Breitscheidplatz, near the center of the former West Berlin. It is technically in the extreme northwest of the neighbourhood of Schöneberg.

History[link]

Former neon sign

Present Logo

Main entrance along Tauentzienstraße

The store was originally founded in 1905 by Adolf Jandorf, who persuaded the famous architect Emil Schaudt to build his store. It opened on March 27, 1907 with an area of 24,000 sq-m.^[1]

In 1927, ownership changed to the Hertie company owned by Hermann Tietz. The Hertie Company was responsible for modernizing and expanding the store. They had the ambition to add two new floors but because of the Nazi rise to power in the 1930s their plans came to a sudden halt. The Hertie Company was mainly Jewish owned and because of the Nazis' race laws they were prevented from maintaining their ownership. During World War II Allied bombing ruined most of the store. One bomber was shot down and crashed into the store in 1943. Most of the store was gutted, which caused its closure. The re-opening of the first two floors was celebrated in 1950. Full reconstruction of all seven floors was finished by 1956. Once completed it became a beacon of hope for Berliners. "KaDeWe" soon became a symbol of the regained economic power of West Germany during the Wirtschaftswunder economic boom, as well as emblematic of the material prosperity of West Berlin versus that of the East.^[1]

Between 1976-1978 the store's floor space was expanded from 24,000 sq-m to 44,000 sq-m. Just after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, KaDeWe recorded a record-breaking number of people going through the store. By 1996, with a further floor and restaurant added to the store, the sales area had expanded to 60,000 sq-m.^[1]

In 1994, the KarstadtQuelle AG corporation acquired Hertie and with it KaDeWe. Most of the floors were renovated between 2004 and 2007 in preparation for the store's one hundredth anniversary.

Features[link]

KaDeWe - the sixth floor food hall

Winter garden - restaurant at top floor

KaDeWe has seven floors, each one focussed on a different type of merchandise.

The 1st floor is all Beauty Accessories. Some of the services offered include beauty salons as well as nail and foot spas. "Luxury Boulevard" is also situated here, with Louis Vuitton, Dior, Gucci, Chanel, Bulgari, Cartier and Montblanc stores.

The 2nd floor is Men's Apparel. Most of the clothing on this floor is designer made.

The 3rd floor is devoted to Women's Fashion.

The 4th floor contains more variety. Part of the floor is children's wear. Another portion of the floor is devoted to lingerie, and yet another to health products.

The 5th floor contains interior and design items, as well as the in-house Wedding and Gift Registry services.

The 6th floor is arts, entertainment, electronics, toys, office supplies, and souvenirs.

The 7th and 8th floors (added in the early 1990s) are entirely devoted to food, and advertisements tout the place as having two football fields of food. The 7th floor is called delicatessen and is famous for its wide variety of food and beverages.

The top floor includes a winter garden with a restaurant surrounded by an all windowed wall offering a view over the Wittenbergplatz.

Bibliography[link]

• Antonia Meiners: 100 Jahre KaDeWe. Nicolaische Verlagsbuchhandlung, Berlin 2007, 168 p., 80 colour photos, 80 b&w photos, clothbound, ISBN 978-3-89479-386-9, summary in german
• Nils Busch-Petersen: Adolf Jandorf – Vom Volkswarenhaus zum KaDeWe, Hentrich & Hentrich, Berlin 2007, 80 p., ISBN 978-3-938485-10-1

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b c} KaDeWe, City of Berlin

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kaufhaus des Westens

• KaDeWe - Kaufhaus des Westens in Berlin, (English) and Official Video, (English) or Our store
• Europe's Biggest Department Store featuring history of KaDeWe, berlin-life.com
• „Seventh Heaven“, Christophorus, No. 326, The Porsche Magazine, June/July 2007, p. 66 - 74.
• „Not heaven, but not hell either“, signandsight.com, December 22, 2005 by Roger Boyes
• Fare Of The Country; In One Berlin Store, Food Without End, New York Times, March 10, 1991

Coordinates: 52°30′06″N 13°20′28″E / 52.50167°N 13.34111°E / 52.50167; 13.34111

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Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren in his office 1979 by Edgar de Evia
Born	Ralph Lifshitz (1939-10-14) October 14, 1939 (age 72) Bronx, New York
Nationality	American
Education	Baruch College, City University of New York
Occupation	Fashion designer
Spouse	Ricky Anne Low-Beer (1964-present)
Children	3
Awards	Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur
Labels	Polo Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren (born Ralph Lifshitz, October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer and business executive; best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.

Early life[link]

Ralph Lauren was born Ralph Lifshitz in the Bronx, New York, to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants, from Pinsk, Belarus:^[1] Fraydl (née Kotlar) and Frank Lifshitz, a house painter.^[2]

Ralph attended the Salanter Academy Jewish Day School followed by MTA (now known as the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy), before eventually graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1957.^[3][4] In MTA Lauren was known by his classmates for selling ties to his fellow students. In a moment of spontaneity, when asked what he wanted to do in^[5] his Clinton yearbook he stated under his picture that he wanted to be a millionaire.^[6] During the summer, Ralph attended Camp Roosevelt (Monticello).^[7]

At the age of 16, Ralph's brother Jerry (who was his guardian) changed their last name to Lauren to avoid the unfortunate obscenity reference Lifshitz has in English (although Ralph's brother Lenny retained the name). Apparently Ralph was teased about it in school.^[8] “My given name has the word shit in it,” he told Oprah Winfrey. “When I was a kid, the other kids would make a lot of fun of me. It was a tough name. That's why I decided to change it. Then people said, "Did you change your name because you don't want to be Jewish?" I said, "Absolutely not. That's not what it's about. My cousins who lived in California had changed their last name to Lawrence. So I just thought, "I'm going to pick a nice last name"—it wasn't particularly connected to anything or anyone."^[9]

He went to Baruch College where he studied business, although he dropped out after two years. From 1962 to 1964 he served in the United States Army.^{[citation needed]} He did not attend fashion school, but worked for Brooks Brothers as a salesman. In 1967, with the financial backing of Manhattan clothing manufacturer Norman Hilton, Lauren opened a necktie store where he also sold ties of his own design, under the label "Polo."^[10] He later received the rights to use the trademark Polo from Brooks Brothers.

Personal life[link]

On December 20, 1964, he married Ricky Anne Low-Beer in New York City. The two met six months earlier, in an eye doctor's office where Ricky was working as a receptionist.^[11] They have three children: Dylan, David and Andrew.

The Polo Ralph Lauren flagship store occupying the Rhinelander Mansion on Madison Avenue in New York City

In 1970, Ralph Lauren won the COTY Award for his menswear line. Around that same time he released a line of women's suits that were tailored in a classic men's style, which was when the first Polo emblem was seen. It was on the cuff of the women's suit. Ralph Lauren released Polo's famous short sleeve mesh shirt with the Polo logo in 1972. It came out in 24 colors and soon became a classic.^[12] He also gained recognition for his design after he was contracted to provide clothing styles for the movie The Great Gatsby.

A Polo Ralph Lauren store on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago

In 1984, he transformed the Rhinelander Mansion, former home of the photographer Edgar de Evia and Robert Denning, into the flagship store for Polo Ralph Lauren. This same year de Evia photographed the cover feature story for House & Garden on the Lauren home Round Hill in Jamaica,^[13] which had formerly been the home of Babe and Bill Paley.^[14] On June 11, 1997, Polo Ralph Lauren became a public company, traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RL.

By 2007 Ralph Lauren had over 35 boutiques in the United States. There were 23 locations that carried Ralph Lauren Purple Label, including Atlanta, Beverly Hills, Boston, Charlotte, Washington, DC, Chicago, Costa Mesa, Dallas, Denver, Honolulu, Houston, Las Vegas, Manhasset, New York, Palm Beach, Palo Alto, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Short Hills, and Troy.^{[citation needed]} The Financial Times reported in its edition of January 2–3, 2010 that the firm had revenues of $5 billion for the fiscal year 2009. The article addresses succession plans and the future of the overall business.

In 2010, Ralph Lauren was decorated Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, in Paris

Surgery[link]

Sometime in early 1987, he was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor. In April 1987 he underwent surgery to remove the tumor and made a full recovery.^[15]

Net worth[link]

As of September 2011, Forbes estimates his wealth at $6.1 billion dollars which would make Ralph Lauren the 173rd richest person in the world.^[16]

Automobile Collection[link]

Ralph Lauren with his Porsche GT3 RS (2010)

Ralph Lauren is also well known as a collector of automobiles, some of which are extremely rare. A large portion of his over 70 automobiles are held in his estate in Katonah, New York. He owns a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, two Ferrari 250 Testa Rossas, three 1996 McLaren F1s (one of them an ultra-rare F1 LM), a Mercedes 300SL Gullwing, a 1929 Blower Bentley, one Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, a Porsche 997 GT3 RS, a Bugatti Veyron, a 1930 Mercedes-Benz CountTrossi SSK (aka "The Black Prince") a 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Mille Miglia.^[17], a Lamborghini Reventón and the rare Reventón Roadster. His cars have won "best in show" at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance multiple times. In 2005 his collection was displayed at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.^[18] In 2011 17 prime members of his collection were exhibited at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.^[19]

Controversies[link]

In 2009, Ralph Lauren apologized^[20] for digitally retouching a photograph of model Filippa Hamilton to make her look thinner. Hamilton also claims that she was fired by Ralph Lauren a few days later.^[21] Another model's photo was also digitally retouched^[22] adding to the row.

See also[link]

• List of swimwear brands

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Gross, Michael: Genuine Authentic: The Real Life of Ralph Lauren. Harper, New York 2003.
• Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A.: Ralph Lauren: The Man behind the Mystique. Little, Brown and Company New York 1981.
• McDowell, Colin: Ralph Lauren: The Man, The Vision, The Style. Rizzoli, New York 2002.

External links[link]

• Ralph Lauren Web Site
• Ralph Lauren designer profile at Fashion Model Directory
• Ralph Lauren at the Internet Movie Database
• Ralph Lauren collections at style.com
• Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention
• Men's Vogue profile of Ralph Lauren
• Ralph Lauren Auto Collection
• WIRED Magazine celebrates the Ralph Lauren Classic Automobile Collection