'The bear is like a mascot, and the whole idea of hip-hop culture is taking something mainstream and disrupting it; it's a little irreverent — you see it with a lot of symbols in hip-hop.'
Author:Andrea ChengUpdated:Oct 16, 2018Original:May 15, 2018Ralph Lauren, hailed by many as the godfather of prep, built an empire on selling the American dream and the clothing to accompany it. But this isn't about his origin story, or the creation of Polo Ralph Lauren , or how his most famous logo — the polo rider — came to be .
The bear has always found success, beginning from when it was first conceived. Legend has it that Ralph's brother Jerry was an avid collector of the Steiff teddy bear, so much so that one year, both were given bears dressed in their likeness, and it became something of a tradition. And then, in 1991, Ralph introduced a teddy bear — only 200 were made — and it immediately sold out that weekend. Soon thereafter, the bear was found knitted on sweaters, stamped on tees and embroidered on shirts.
"We focused on Polo and made it our signature brand, and for us, when we first started wearing it, it was seen as exclusive, something that you didn't see in the ghetto; it wasn't worn by people who lived in our community," says Rack-Lo. "Polo was made for the rich, WASP-y kids; it wasn't made for urban kids, and as teenagers, we couldn't afford it.
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