Ralph Lauren, American Patriot

On January 4, President Joe Biden honored nineteen individuals with the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor. While one could argue that some were less deserving of the award than others, I believe that one honoree deserved it without question: Ralph Lauren, a living embodiment of the American dream who in turn made America his muse. His designs pay homage to the cowboy, the soldier, the Ivy Leaguer. For Lauren, no aspect of the American character isn’t worth celebrating—a welcome contrast to the self-loathing that usually pervades the upper echelons of society.  

Born to immigrant parents in the Bronx, Lauren spent a few years studying business at CUNY before dropping out and joining the U.S. Air Force. After his discharge, he pursued his passion for menswear, working in sales for Brooks Brothers. At age twenty-eight, while working at the tie manufacturer Beau Brummell, his talent was so apparent that the company allowed him to design his own collection. 

Lauren’s style was, to borrow a quote from Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw, “warm, masculine, and classic American.” His first collection of ties, sold under the now-iconic Polo label, generated half a million dollars in sales in its inaugural year. He went on to launch the Ralph Lauren Corporation, where Lauren developed his first full menswear collection. According to Vanity Fair, he personally delivered orders to stores and built his clientele from a single drawer in a modest studio showroom in the Empire State Building. As his empire grew, Lauren opened his first flagship store on 72nd and Madison Avenue, expanded into women’s and children’s clothing, and introduced fragrances and home furniture. His designs became a staple of wardrobes and households across the nation.

Lauren drew inspiration from America’s cultural and historical background, including its origin as an English colony. His most famous brand, Polo, captures the swagger of the British upper class’s most exclusive sport. On the other hand, the Fair Isle sweater, often worn by Lauren himself, is inspired by the humble fishermen of the Shetland Islands. 

Just as intentional is the collegiate spirit and preppy style Lauren draws from America’s elite universities. Lauren has epitomized the classic Ivy League look, with bold letter sweaters and rugby shirts that capture the intellectual and physical exceptionalism of New England’s universities. 

But Lauren doesn’t limit himself to the coastal elites. He romanticizes the lives of America’s ranchers—those who feed the nation and manage its vast cattle and livestock. With suede jackets, turquoise-laced belts, and Southwestern-patterned cardigans, Lauren honors the cowboy, that most quintessential American, and his beautifully untamed lifestyle on the Western frontier. This homage goes beyond his fashion lines. At the New York City Polo Bar restaurant on East 55th Street, burgers are made with beef from his 16,000-acre Double RL Ranch in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. 

Lauren honors America’s servicemen through his vintage-inspired aviation and military styles. His dark green “Iconic Field Jacket” and aviator sunglasses, for example, exude the strength and cool confidence of those who have fought for American freedom. As a former service member himself, Lauren understands the sacrifice of the veteran, and his designs recognize the nobility of that sacrifice.  

True to another pillar of the American dream, Lauren has used his success to give back. In 1989, Lauren began his philanthropy focusing on cancer research and opened the Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research at Georgetown University (in honor of the Washington Post’s late fashion editor Nina Hyde). In July 1998, Polo Ralph Lauren contributed $10 million to Save America’s Treasures to preserve the original 1813 Star-Spangled Banner that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that would become our national anthem. It was a fitting gesture, given that his American flag sweater is perhaps the most iconic item of his career. And though Lauren has a history of donating to Democratic candidates, he stepped up to dress First Lady Melania Trump for the 2017 inauguration when no one else would. His powder blue ensemble paid tribute to another First Lady, Jackie Kennedy. 

At the ceremony, Lauren’s designs were acknowledged as “classic yet creative, timeless yet innovative . . . remind[ing] us of our distinct style of a nation of dreamers and doers.” Great artists know how to balance opposing forces, and Ralph Lauren is no exception. He has curated perhaps the truest vision of American culture—one that is rugged but sophisticated, traditional but driving forward, old world and new world. Both he and his work through fashion and philanthropy exemplify the exceptionalism that defines the United States—an exceptionalism that many of us still believe in.