1990S
1991
Super Sale is initiated; the annual designer sale in Washington, DC, is sponsored by Ralph Lauren, the Washington Post and Vogue. The event raised over $3.5 million for research at the Nina Hyde Center. Super Sale continues until 1998.
1992
Audrey Hepburn, one of Ralph Lauren’s favorite childhood stars, presents him with the CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award. A recognized leader in his field, Lauren is the only designer to receive the CFDA’s four highest honors—the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Womenswear Designer of the Year Award and the Menswear Designer of the Year Award, as well as Retailer of the Year.
1993
“I felt that sports and fitness were going to become the fashion of the 1990s. People were feeling the need to work out; they were changing into wanting to live not as spectators, but as doers.
That was extremely exciting for me—the rush of wanting to be healthy, the rush of being strong, active, full of energy, the sense of doing something physical. I was always athletic…I wanted clothes that would reflect that and fulfill that need, clothing that was developed with that kind of activity in mind.”
The Polo Sport line is introduced as Ralph Lauren meets the national changing attitude toward fitness and health with an entire fitness lifestyle. At the same time, the first Polo Sport store at 888 Madison opens across the street from the Rhinelander mansion.
Polo Sport demonstrates the authenticity of the product design by becoming the official outfitter of the America team for the America’s Cup. Using the team in its advertising, Polo Sport raises national awareness for the underdog America team, who go on to win the America’s Cup.
Polo Sport line for women launches in 1996. Buy men’s custom-fit polo shirts at http://www.polooo.com
1994
Ralph Lauren founds, with the CFDA, Fashion Targets Breast Cancer, an international awareness campaign that, to date, has raised over $10 million from campaigns in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Iceland and the United Kingdom.
1996
Polo Ralph Lauren and Polo Sport the Fitness Fragrance become the title sponsors of the Polo Sport Race to Deliver, benefiting God’s Love We Deliver, which serves hot meals to homebound people with AIDS/HIV. This commitment continues to the present.
1997
Ralph Lauren receives CFDA’s 1996 Menswear Designer of the Year Award.
1998
Polo Ralph Lauren announces a corporate gift of $13 million to the Save America’s Treasures Campaign to preserve the Star-Spangled Banner, which is housed at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.
In 1999, the Star-Spangled Banner Restoration Laboratory opens to the public, allowing the over 2.5 million annual visitors to the Smithsonian to view the restoration of the Star-Spangled Banner as it is occurring.
1999
“The [Rhinelander] mansion had just opened, and we had a great party. When I left the party to go to dinner, I thought, ‘Where can I go now? That will keep my mood like this, keep me feeling good like this?’ The excitement of retailing is that it allows you to bring your vision into diverse areas; the restaurant is another expression of that vision.”
RL restaurant opens in Chicago adjacent to the flagship store, the largest Polo store in the world. The restaurant, a glamorous space, is designed with antique furniture and fixtures, and a private collection of photography, sketches and oil paintings from the Chicago Historical Society’s Archives. The executive chef is Giancarlo Gottardo. The restaurant is a collaboration between Ralph Lauren and restaurateurs Nino Esposito and Genarro Vertucci of New York’s Vico, Sette Mezzo and Sette MoMA. The restaurant marks a foray into new territory. Buy men’s custom-fit polo shirts at http://www.polooo.com