Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren is the first designer in the history of fashion to create clothes so archetypal of their time and place that they have almost come to symbolise a nation. Largely ignoring the vagaries of fashion change, he has taken the best of the past and recast it for the present and in so doing has given international cachet to the weft and warp of American life. Colin McDowell not only tells the life story of Ralph Lauren - his beginnings as a tie salesman to the opening of his first store in New York - but he examines the roots of Lauren's Americana and what has inspired him. Colin McDowell has been given unprecedented access to the behind-the-scenes world of Ralph Lauren along with the full support of the designer, his family, friends and colleagues. This book is a celebration and an exploration of the themes that have inspired him and provides a deep insight into the man behind the style.