The Ralph Lauren name is an iconic American fashion company made up of 17 fashion brands and four lifestyle brands with 493 stores across 30 countries as well as an online component. Over the years, labels have come and gone but they live on in our hearts (and on eBay) so keep reading to learn about two of his most luxurious labels, Black Label and Purple Label. One no longer exists while the other is the top label at the company. Care to guess which is which?
The Man, the Myth, the Legend
Born with the moniker, Ralph Rueben Lifshitz, in New York in October of 1939, Ralph and his brother changed their last name to Lauren when they were teenagers. After completing high school, Lauren took business classes at night and worked in sales by day. One of these day jobs was working for a tie company, which inspired him to design his own neckwear. In 1967, Lauren went into business for himself, marketing his unique line of ties under the name Polo.
Lauren’s ties were wider and more colorful than the other ones on the market and they found their niche, first in small stores specializing in menswear and later on at Bloomingdale’s department store. His creations were characterized by a style that evoked the look of English aristocracy as it had been adopted by the preppy and sporty American East Coast elite.
His style really took off and became a nationwide phenomenon after he was asked to dress the male actors in the 1974 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby. The film evoked the lost, elegant era of the 1920s, providing the perfect backdrop for Lauren’s classic vision.
His interest in timelessness, longevity, and style as opposed to the trendiness of fashion, inspired some of the more famous clothing worn by Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in Annie Hall. His vision appealed to a wide variety of people, and his label quickly turned into the empire we know today, including the Black Label and Purple Label, amongst others.
Black Label
Ralph Lauren Black Label was launched in 2005 and lasted just under a decade. The label was only available in flagship Ralph Lauren stores, selected high-end department stores, and via the online store. The purpose of the label was to act as a mid-point between Polo Ralph Lauren and Purple Label.
Black Label offered more contemporary collections with a sleek edge and featured slim cuts and luxurious and sophisticated finishes that complemented the more formal side of fashion. Tailoring also played a large part in the Black Label collections, keeping the Black Label man trim and effortlessly elegant.
The line was intended to not be preppy, as Lauren had that covered with his multiple other labels, but more so of being the confident man-about-town. The cuts were more modern, with Italian cuts for the suits and sportcoats and dress shirts with higher armholes and the signature slim silhouettes.
Purple Label
Launched in 1994 as the premium men’s collection that specializes in luxurious, tailored apparel inspired by London’s esteemed Savile Row, Purple Label is the top-end label offered by Ralph Lauren, and by far the most expensive. This label is home to the most premium Ralph Lauren products, made in smaller runs and from superior materials.
Ralph Lauren’s website claims that Lauren went to one of his tailors in London and asked him to make “a suit, with a clean, structured shape. [Lauren] brought the suit back to New York. People said, ‘Hey, great suit!’ and [he] said, ‘This is what I want to make next.’”
Manufactured in Italy, the Ralph Lauren website describes this label as the brand’s high-end American power-dressing menswear line and the fourth addition to the Ralph Lauren brand. The Luxottica Group cites the Ralph Lauren Purple Label for having “a fresh take on traditional bespoke tailoring. Ralph Lauren Purple Label is the ultimate expression of modern elegance for men.”
This line has a classic, traditionally British styling that includes ready-to-wear suits, sportcoats, dress shirts, sportswear, footwear, and accessories. The line also offers a collection of made-to-order suits, sportcoats, dress shirts, shoes, small leather goods, jewelry, and exotic skin luggage. This label is only available in Ralph Lauren flagship stores, high-end department stores such as Neiman Marcus, and the company’s online store.
Ralph Lauren’s Purple Label Fall 2002 Collection showed in Milan and was declared the top collection of the season and was the only show to receive a standing ovation during Fashion Week.
The Ralph Lauren Purple Label has its place in pop culture as well, having been mentioned by both Jay-Z in his song Change Clothes and by Beyonce in her song Upgrade U which also features her husband. In 2008, Lauren and LeBron James partnered together to benefit the LeBron James Family Foundation. There were 300 limited-edition Ralph Lauren Purple Label basketballs that sold for $300 each or for $1000 with James’ coveted autograph gracing the ball.
These days, Purple Label also produces whimsical and refined editions of some of the brand’s more classic styles, such as their iconic Polo or button-up shirts. Purple Label also tends to have minimal to no branding, often using an alternative to the classic embroidered Polo Horse motif. The clothing in the Ralph Lauren Purple Label collection has a purple label with Lauren’s signature scrawled on it. Non-clothing items do not necessarily include the same purple label but instead are recognized for their high-end craftsmanship that is the epitome of luxury.
Black or Purple?
Well, considering Black Label is defunct, Purple Label is the go-to for high-end apparel bearing the Ralph Lauren name. You can still get a slim-fit suit, made-to-order of course.
If you scour the internet, there are Black Label pieces available for sale on eBay and various other resale sites, but at the prices people are offering, you are probably better off spending the money on a brand new item of clothing from the Purple Label. Go ahead, you work hard and you deserve it. In the infamous words of Tom Haverford from Parks and Recreation (as played by one delightful Aziz Ansari), “Treat Yo Self!”
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