Ralph Lauren was born in 1939 in New York to a family of immigrants from Belarus. In 1957, he graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School. Afterward, he enrolled at Baruch College to study business, but after two years, he dropped out.

He served in the army from 1962 to 1964 and then worked as a sales assistant at Brooks Brothers. Soon after, he became a salesman at a tie company.

In 1967, the story of the Ralph Lauren Corporation began. While working at Beau Brummell, Lauren persuaded the owner to allow him to start his own tie line.

Soon after in 1968, his first full menswear line came to life under the "Polo" name. One year later, the famous New York department store Bloomingdale’s was exclusively selling Lauren’s men's line.

In 1971, for the first time, he pioneered a women's line of tailored shirts depicting the world-famous Polo Player emblem and the first Ralph Lauren store opened on Rodeo Drive in Beverley Hills.

In 1974, he made costumes for the male cast of "The Great Gatsby" movie. In 1977, his clothes were also worn by Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in their Oscar-winning movie "Annie Hall".