This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (April 2011)

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

Tom Ford
Tom Ford, September 2009
Born	(1961-08-27) August 27, 1961 (age 50)[1] Austin, Texas
Education	Parsons The New School for Design
Occupation	Fashion designer, film director
Labels	Cathy Hardwick, Perry Ellis, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Tom Ford

Thomas Carlyle "Tom" Ford (born August 27, 1961)^[2] is an American fashion designer and film director. He gained international fame for his turnaround of the Gucci fashion house and the creation of the Tom Ford label before directing the Oscar-nominated film A Single Man.

Early life (1961–1986)[link]

Tom Ford was born August 27, 1961 in Austin, Texas, to realtors Tom Ford and Shirley Burton.^[3][4] He spent his early life in the suburbs of Houston, Texas, and in San Marcos, outside Austin; his family moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, when he was 11.^[5] In Santa Fe, he entered St. Michael's High School and later moved to Santa Fe Preparatory School, from which he graduated in 1979.^[6] Ford left Santa Fe at age 16, when he enrolled at Bard College at Simon's Rock, but quickly dropped out.^{[citation needed]} He then moved to New York City to study art history at New York University.^[7][8]

Ford dropped out of NYU after only a year, preferring to concentrate on acting in television commercials; at one time, he was in 12 national advertising campaigns simultaneously.^[4][7][9] Ford then began studying interior architecture at The New School's famous art and design college, Parsons The New School for Design.^[10] During his time in New York, Ford became a fixture at the legendary nightclub Studio 54, where he realized he was gay.^[11][12] The club's disco-era glamor would be a major influence on his later designs.^[13][14] Before his last year at New School, Ford spent a year and a half in Paris, where he worked as an intern in Chloé's press office.^[15][16] Though his work primarily involved sending clothes out on photo shoots, it triggered his love of fashion.^[16][17] He spent his final year at The New School studying fashion, but nonetheless graduated with a degree in architecture.^[16][17]

Early career (1986–1994)[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2011)

When interviewing for jobs after graduation, he said that he had attended The New School's Parsons division, but concealed that he graduated in architecture and that his work at Chloe was a low-level public relations position. Despite his lack of experience, Ford called American designer Cathy Hardwick every day for a month in hopes of securing a job at her mid-price sportswear company. Eventually, she agreed to see him. Hardwick later recalled the incident: "I had every intention of giving him no hope. I asked him who his favorite European designers were. He said, 'Armani and Chanel.' Months later I asked him why he said that, and he said, 'Because you were wearing something Armani'. Is it any wonder he got the job?" Ford worked as a design assistant for Hardwick for two years.

In 1988, Ford moved to Perry Ellis, where he knew both Robert McDonald, the company's president, and Marc Jacobs, its designer, socially. He stayed at the company for two years, but grew tired of working in American fashion. In a later interview with the New York Times, he commented, "If I was ever going to become a good designer, I had to leave America. My own culture was inhibiting me. Too much style in America is tacky. It's looked down upon to be too stylish. Europeans, however, appreciate style." Ford would soon have the opportunity to enter the world of European fashion: Gucci, a faltering luxury goods company, was seeking to strengthen its women's ready-to-wear presence as a part of its brand overhaul. At the time, "no one would dream of wearing Gucci," said Dawn Mello, then the company's creative director. Mello hired Ford—then a near-unknown—as the brand's chief women's ready-to-wear designer in 1990. "I was talking to a lot of people, and most didn't want the job," Mello said. "For an American designer to move to Italy to join a company that was far from being a brand would have been pretty risky." Ford and his longtime partner, fashion journalist Richard Buckley, relocated to Milan that September.

Ford's role at Gucci rapidly expanded: he was designing menswear within six months, and shoes soon after that. When Richard Lambertson left as design director in 1992, Ford took over his position, heading the brand's ready-to-wear, fragrances, image, advertising, and store design. In 1993, when he was in charge of designing eleven product lines, Ford worked eighteen-hour days. During these years, there were creative tensions between Ford and Maurizio Gucci, the company's chairman and 50% owner. According to Mello, "Maurizio always wanted everything to be round and brown, and Tom wanted to make it square and black." Though Maurizio Gucci wanted to fire Ford, Domenico de Sole insisted that he remain. Nonetheless, Ford's work during the early 1990s was primarily behind the scenes; his contributions to Gucci were overshadowed by those of Mello, who was the company's public face.

Gucci and YSL creative director (1994–2004)[link]

In 1994, Ford was promoted to creative director. In his first year at the helm, he was credited with putting the glamour back into fashion introducing Halston-style velvet hipsters, skinny satin shirts and car-finish metallic patent boots. In 1995, he brought in French stylist Carine Roitfeld and photographer Mario Testino to create a series of new, modern ad campaigns for the company. Between 1995 and 1996, sales at Gucci increased by 90%. On the strength of Ford's collections, Gucci went public in October 1995 with an IPO of $22 per share, followed by an additional global offering in March 1996 at $48 per share and a third offering in 1999 at $75 per share. In early 1999, luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, headed by Bernard Arnault, increased its shareholdings in Gucci with a view to takeover. Domenico de Sole reacted by issuing new shares of stock in an effort to dilute the value of Arnault's holdings. Ford and De Sole also approached French holding company Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR) about the possibility of forming a strategic alliance. François Pinault, the company’s founder, agreed to the idea and purchased 37 million shares in the company, or a 40% stake. Arnault’s share was diluted to 20%. At one point, Ford was the largest individual shareholder of Gucci stock and options.

By 1999, the house, which had been almost bankrupt when Ford joined, was valued at about $4.3 billion. When Ford left in 2004, Gucci Group was valued at $10 billion.

When Gucci acquired the house of Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), Ford was named the creative director of that label as well. During his time as Creative Director for YSL, Ford won numerous Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards. Like his work at Gucci, Ford was able to catapult the classic fashion house back into the mainstream. His advertising campaigns for the YSL fragrances Opium (with a red-haired Sophie Dahl completely naked wearing only a necklace and stiletto heels in a sexually suggestive pose) and YSL M7 (with martial arts champion Samuel de Cubber in complete full-frontal nudity) have been famous and provocative by pushing fragrance ads to a new level of creativity in artistic expression and commercial impact.

In April 2004, Ford parted ways with the Gucci group after he and CEO Domenico de Sole, who is credited as Ford's partner in Gucci's success, failed to agree with PPR bosses over artistic control of the Group.

Tom Ford (2004–present)[link]

Tom Ford boutique in The Crystals (Las Vegas)

In March 2011, Ford was featured as the cover star of the bi-annual publication AnOther Man, the fraternal counterpart to Another Magazine, giving his opinion on what makes the modern day gentleman. He was interviewed by the magazine's founder Jefferson Hack for the featured article.^[18]

Career as a film director[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2011)

In March 2005, Ford announced the opening of his film production company, FADE TO BLACK. In 2009, Ford made his film directorial debut with A Single Man, which was based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood. The film stars Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult and Matthew Goode. The screenplay was adapted by Ford and David Scearce. Ford also produced the film, which premiered on September 11, 2009 at the 66th Venice International Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Lion. Colin Firth, who plays the protagonist George, was awarded the Volpi Cup as Best Actor for his performance and was also nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Independent Spirit Award and Screen Actors Guild Award. He won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Julianne Moore was nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Abel Korzeniowski for Best Original Score at the Golden Globes. Tom Ford was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards in 2009 including Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay.

Personal life[link]

Tom Ford is openly gay, and he and his partner, journalist Richard Buckley, have been together since 1986.^[19] Buckley was the former Editor in Chief of Vogue Hommes International. Buckley was diagnosed with cancer in 1989 and after his recovery the two moved from New York to Italy.^[20]

The couple has owned three smooth fox terriers. Their first dog, named John, lived 14 years with Ford and Buckley, and appeared on the runway and in some photos with Ford. Currently, they own Angus and India, who are six and four years old, respectively. These smooth fox terriers appeared in Ford's movie A Single Man.^[20]

Awards and nominations[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2011)

Ford has been recognized by important design and cultural councils worldwide including the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum and TIME.

• 1995: International Award – Council of Fashion Designers of America
• 1997: People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People
• 1999: Style Icon Award – Elle Style Awards UK
• 2000: Best International Designer – VH1/Vogue Awards
• 2000: Fashion Editors Club of Japan Award
• 2000: British GQ International Man of the Year Award
• 2000: Superstar Award – Fashion Group International
• 2001: Womenswear Designer of the Year – Council of Fashion Designers of America
• 2001: Best Fashion Designer – TIME Magazine
• 2001: Designer of the Year – GQ USA
• 2001: Board of Directors Special Tribute – Council of Fashion Designers of America
• 2002: Accessory Designer of the Year Award for Yves Saint-Laurent – Council of Fashion Designers of America
• 2003: Fashion Design Achievement Award – Cooper Hewitt Design Museum's National Design Awards
• 2004: Rodeo Drive Walk of Style Award
• 2004: International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame
• 2005: Andre Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award – Savannah College of Art & Design
• 2006: Accessory Brand Launch – Accessories Council Excellence (ACE) Awards ^[21]
• 2007: GLAAD Media Awards – Victor Russo Award
• 2007: DNR's Person of the Year
• 2008: Menswear Designer of the Year – Council of Fashion Designers of America
• 2009: Venice Film Festival – Golden Lion for A Single Man (Nominee)
• 2009: Venice Film Festival – Queer Lion for A Single Man
• 2009: Critics Choice Awards – Best Adapted Screenplay for A Single Man (Nominee)
• 2009: Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Screenplay for A Single Man (Nominee)
• 2009: Independent Spirit Awards – Best First Feature for A Single Man (Nominee)
• 2009: Honored as one of GQ USA's Men of the Year
• 2009: GQ Germany Man of the Year
• 2010: GLAAD Media Awards – Outstanding Film Wide Release for A Single Man
• 2010: Menswear Designer of the Year – Council of Fashion Designers of America (Nominee)

Further reading[link]

• Tom Ford with Graydon Carter and Anna Wintour. Tom Ford. Thames & Hudson (2004). ISBN 0-500-51197-7.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tom Ford

• Official Tom Ford homepage
• Tom Ford fanpage
• Tom Ford designer profile at Fashion Model Directory
• Tom Ford at the Internet Movie Database