Ever wondered how the iconic polo shirt got its name? it may surprise you to know that the original polo shirt is in fact a tennis shirt. That’s right, the iconic short sleeved, rib-knit collar was invented as a tennis shirt fifty years ago. Now on the shirts fifty-year anniversary Rizzoli are paying homage to a staple in any mans wardrobe: the Ralph Lauren Polo.
The book, an encyclopaedia, gives its readers a full insight into the minutiae that sets Lauren’s polo apart, and how it has evolved over the years. The book, filled with beautiful photography, an introduction by Ralph Lauren himself, and an afterward by David Lauren. The launch will be accompanied by a 360-degree marketing campaign that will reflect on the unique cultural impact of that Polo Shirt. Over the past five decades the shirt had impacted consumers from various backgrounds and then reintroduced to a generation of consumers via initiatives and installations, immersive storytelling, sustainable collections, as well as creative and customizable Polo Shirts available for order.
The shirt embodies a unique American chic casualness, and has thus become a cultural symbol, worn by everyone, from heads of states to film stars, from artists to lay man. to understand its significance, the book reads, “The Polo shirt is to Ralph Lauren what Mickey Mouse is to Disney or the Empire State Building is to New York City.”
Ralph Lauren, who is still the Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Ralph Lauren Corporation mentions, “I wanted the shirt to become part of the life of the person who wore it. I never knew that after fifty years it would become such a personal icon all over the world. What I do has always come from the way people live. It is honest and from the heart and hopefully that is what touches the diversity of people who wear my Polo and all my clothes.”
The 554-page book pays homage to this fact, that Lauren created a piece of clothing that had been adjusted and worn by everyone, to the extent that the shirt had been altered to fit the hip hop era in the ‘90’s to tailored cuts for the fitness fanatics in the aughts. With quotes from celebrities and sportsman to doctors and even a man who bought it immediately after receiving his first pay cheque, this book proves that the Polo is more than just a wardrobe piece.
