Ralph Lauren poses with his Pebble Beach Best in Show-winning 1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic Coupe.
January 29, 2006
For four decades consumers have draped themselves in Ralph Lauren designs. Adorned with the polo player logo, Laurens clothes have been described as timeless, classic, elegant, traditional and well-made. Laurens vision of fashionfrom the length of a skirts hemline to the shoulder padding in a mans suit jacket and all things in betweenhas come to define American style. His company, Polo Ralph Lauren, also makes products for the home, so it is possible for anyone who wishes to do so to be touched nearly all day long by something Lauren designed.
For all this success in the fashion world, Lauren is one of us: a car guy. His business acumen has allowed him to amass one of the greatest personal car collections in the world. He won Best in Show at the Pebble Beach Concours dElegance in 1990 and 1993, and 16 cars from his collection were recently featured in a special exhibition, Speed, Style, and Beauty: Cars from the Ralph Lauren Collection, at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
While it would have been possible to produce this issue about iconic design without allowing Lauren to express his ideas about fashion and cars, it would have been an incomplete story. Even in New York City, upon walking into Laurens Madison Avenue office, you know youre in the presence of a car lover. Car books stand prominently among stacks everywhereon shelves and on a large coffee tableand car models are everywhere, too. A Jesse Alexander racing photo has a prominent place on the wall behind his desk. We sit in Lauren-designed chairs made of carbon fiber and inspired by the construction of his McLaren F1. Yeah, hes a car guy.
Lauren is wearing black corduroy jeans, a black crew-neck sweater and shoes that resemble racing bootscasual elegance. He looks fit, trim and, despite his white hair, younger than his 66 years. Looking you straight in the eye, he speaks softly and deliberately, pausing occasionally to collect his thoughts.
AW: What is considered to be traditional style today that differs from what traditional style was 20 years ago?
RL: There are subtleties that change. In womens wear its a lot more radical than in mens wear. Elegance is timeless. I would say Mercedes is time- less, classical elegance. Bentley is timeless elegance. The Aston is timeless elegance. Porsche is understated, but an amazing car. But I cant take away and isolate design from quality, from the engine, from detailing. I cant isolate these things. Its about subtleties. Cars are made to fit certain niches. I dont think designthe sketching, the drawing of the caris the only reason people buy a car. Its not about design. Its about the whole story, the whole vision of that company. Thats very important to the car company. Its very important to me. Whats similar in both businesses [cars and fashion]? If you dont have an identity, you dont know your audience.
AW: What design was considered timeless when it was first introduced?
RL: Im more about what is in the car, what is it going to do for me. What is it going to feel like? To me todays technology is the new fashion in cars; its function vs. the design. It is what will happen inside of it rather than Look at my fins. What has the engine got? What is the comfort? The functionality of using the car is very important.
AW: Was anything an instant classic?
RL: I make classics. I try to make new classics. What I design for is a sophisticated statement. Hard for me to compare what I do with a car company. I know who my audience is. Its not radical. I know theyre going to go for it. I try not to be all things to everybody.Companies slip off their vision, off their message. Im very clear with my message. Porsche is doing a four-door. Aston is doing a four-door. Why do you think that is happening? Why it is happening is that someone there is recognizing a need from their customers who say, I cant put my kids in the back, but I love Porsche. For years Ive been saying that. Aston is very clear with their message. Theyre not trying to be Ferrari. They know who they are and who their audience is. I have a lot of respect for a company like that. I have a lot of respect for Bentley. When I came out with my first ties, they were instant classics. They were wide; people laughed at first. Today I make narrow ties. The world changes.
AW: Based on recent observation, the necktie is disappearing. Having gotten your start in that area of style, how do you feel about this?
RL: I dont think there is a big demise. Just like in the car business when people used to have one car, men wore a suit and tie in the daytime, at night and on the weekends. Today men have a broader vision of casual life. The world has changed with a much more causal atmosphere, from Wall Street on down. More things are acceptable for men to wear. Restaurants dont require a jacket and tie anymore. But the tie business is up. Im selling more ties than a year ago. The world has changed. Its more causal, but it doesnt mean its not elegant.
AW: Given your own interests, and notwithstanding your vehicles appearances at car shows, why is your company not heavily involved in, for example, vintage racing or concours dElegance sponsorships?
RL: I have done that through the years. I sponsored Bob Akin. He is a friend of mine. It is very expensive to do. It depends on your audience. I have worked with Brian Redman from time to time. Always been involved in some way, but not on a consistent basis.
AW: Why havent you done a car yet? Have you considered it?
RL: Yes, but I dont believe I could design my own car. I respect everyone who has a craft. I have lots of ideas. I have spoken to different people [at car companies] over the years. But Im not interested in what the interior should be. People say, I want to put a Ralph Lauren car outwould you put an interior in it? Im not interested in doing an interior.
AW: If you were to do a car, what would it be? What would it look like?
RL: I couldnt tell you that I could design a better car. Its more like what kind of car would be interesting for an audience. I dont consider myself a car designer. I have great respect for people who design cars. An understanding of the audience is what I do.
AW: As a clothing designer and a car collector, is it the clothes or the car that makes the man?
RL: Id have to say its neither (laughing). The clothes are a dimension of his personality and statement. Its visual. The car is also a statement to some degree of his taste. Youve got to wear clothes wherever youre going, and when you walk in the door you do make a personal statement. Cars today dont make that statement as much, they dont say if youre rich or poor. It used to be if you had a Cadillac in the 50s, you would have been considered rich. Today if you drive an SUV or Suburban, it doesnt make the same statement. People buy cars for convenience, and theyre not as conscious. But, I think this is important, the sensibility of what does the car stand for? Whats inside the car, the quality of its performance?
AW: What is a bigger thrill: driving across the stage at Pebble Beach in a Best in Show-winning car, or walking down the runway to enthusiastic applause following the launch of a clothing line?
RL: They are both very thrilling, both very different. When I won at Pebble Beach it was totally a thrill to do something I dont normally do. To have people come over to me and say, I love your cars instead of I love your clothes. The designing of a collection on my own is nerve-racking.
AW: With all the cars that you own, what is your daily driver?
RL: Here [in New York City], I have a driver and a Suburban. But Im getting a Bentley.
AW: What is your take on some of the recent retro-styled cars?
RL: I dont think that was a bad move. There are lots of things happening in design. In fashion there are old jackets and torn jeans that are popular. Modern is interesting, retro is interesting, classic is interesting. A lot of people like what they saw when they were growing up. And then for young people, its all new to them. What J Mays did with the VW, they did it the right way: A classic updated. But the T-Bird, not so good. The Mustang is a big hitold looks updated with new technology.
AW: Where do you get your inspiration?
RL: Mine comes from my gut and my experience. Its been going fairly well for 40 years.
AW: Will you slow down?
RL: What I do is how I live. I love what I do. If you love what you do, to have that passion is very important. Being true to yourself and your sensibility is very important.
AW: Car designers you admire?
RL: J Mays [at Ford], I think hes terrific. Ive spent time with him. Hes a guy who is very tuned in to other markets, to other worlds. He understood what I was doing very well. He was able to understand what I could do with him. He is tuned in, not just to cars.
AW: Where is the car industry going?
RL: When cars get boring and they have nothing to say and theyve just become a utility, then there is a problem. When I was growing up cars were exciting. American cars were exciting. There has got to be excitement in the business... that is what will stimulate sales. There has got to be some magic that makes you say, I dont have one of those but I want it. Take Hummer, thats fashion. That is fashion, right out of the street. Young people related to it. It came from a military vehicle, but it says, macho, rugged. Its sexy. Cars should say something, just like clothes. Muscle cars are very exciting. The connection [is] to whats going on in the world; whats going on with cars isnt isolated.