Ralph Lauren once said “I don’t design clothes, I design dreams”. Considering his life is similar to a dream come true, one can understand this comment. Born in Bronx, New York from two Belarus immigrants, Ralph Lauren was just a boy with a dream and a passion for creating ties out of rags. It was not until 1967 when he opened his first necktie store in which he sold ties under the brand “Polo”. By 1969 he had its own boutique in Bloomingdale’s and its own store in Beverly Hills two years later. During these years he developed a women’s suit collection first introducing the Polo logo. Soon after, he applied the Polo logo on the men’s short sleeves pique shirt, which is now known all over the world as the famous “Polo” shirt. His collections represented a sporty yet classy American style, which later came to be identified as “preppy”. His creations have also been featured in “The Great Gatsby” film of 1974 and in Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall”.

Ralph Lauren created several perfume collections for both men and women. One of his earliest women’s fragrances was Safari (1990), an exotic fragrance that mixed citrus notes with jasmine and orange flowers. Safari is still a best-seller today. Romance (1998) is indeed a romantic fragrance, which explores essences of tangerine and chamomile with ginger and violet accords. Ralph Lauren Big Pony is a collection created for both men and women, based on the concept that every individual is unique and versatile. The women’s collection includes four different fragrances to represent different personalities. They all come in colorful bottles that represent the color of their main ingredient.