Diversely yours, Ralph Lauren
Without a doubt, inclusivity is in his DNA
When it comes to all the contributions Ralph Lauren has made to the fashion world, where does one even begin? We’d say a good place to start would be the history-making Polo Sport ad campaign featuring supermodels Tyson Beckford and Naomi Campbell.
Never before had two models of color been chosen to lead an entire campaign, and Lauren’s choice of Beckford in 1994, and the addition of Campbell in 1996, completely put to rest the notion that a model of color (let alone two) couldn’t headline a campaign. It also made international stars and household names out of Beckford and Campbell. They were obviously plenty famous before, but Polo Sport’s campaigns of the 90s shot them into a stratosphere that even they didn’t expect.
Several European and other international markets refused to even run the campaign. They (very much incorrectly) thought that Beckford and Campbell were incapable of carrying the weight of the entire campaign on their shoulders and were not relatable. Wisely and admirably so, Ralph Lauren stubbornly stayed true to his vision, and, well, we all know the rest. The ads literally went nuclear, and the idea of Ralph Lauren and Polo as a staunchly “white America” brand was forever flipped on its head.
Beckford continued modeling for the Ralph Lauren brand for the next five years, and from this, he quickly became the first male supermodel. He helped change an industry (and brand) that was wholly lacking diversity, and ushered in a completely new client for the Polo brand as well – the growing 90s hip-hop elite. By using Beckford in his ads, Lauren made a strong statement concerning the concept of lifestyle merchandising to a more global market. Lauren saw the growing spending power of the rising hip-hop community, and Beckford’s face in the Ralph Lauren Underwear, Polo Jeans Company and Polo Sport campaigns only further connected the brand with these newer, relatable markets.
When it comes to tackling the issue of diversity in ad campaigns, Ralph Lauren was the first designer to truly dive head first into inclusivity. By featuring not one, but two models of color as the faces of entire campaign (one that had been mostly whitewashed until that point), Lauren made a strong statement that forever changed how we see fashion and the people that wear it. With that statement came an entirely new client base that took the brand from big to huge.
By putting diversity front and center, only then did Ralph Lauren and Polo truly become “America’s brand.”
