Ralph Lauren Has One Of The World's Best Car Collections — Here Are His Personal Favorites

The design icon’s extraordinary passion for automobiles is reflected in his stunning car collection, one of the world’s greatest. Here he shares his personal favorites with Architectural Digest.

“I’ve always seen cars as art—moving art,” explains designer and car aficionado Ralph Lauren. “My Lamborghini Reventón reminds me of an incredibly sleek sculpture, or the explosive architecture of a modern master like Frank Gehry."

"Others collect art, but for me owning a rare and magnificently designed car offers a different kind of experience. Like a painting, you can look at it, enjoy its visual aesthetic, but unlike a painting you can get inside of it, drive it, listen to the way it sounds and feels underway. In the end you can enjoy both the beauty of the machine and the journey it takes you on.”

More from Architectural Digest:

•Ralph Lauren Shows Off His Many Homes
•Gorgeous Celebrity Pools 
•Browse Thousands of Exquisite Images in the AD Design File
•Radical Houses Around the World

1996 McLaren F1

Michael Furman/Architectural Digest

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gull-Wing Coupe

Michael Furman/Architectural Digest

1964 Ferrari 250 LM

Michael Furman/Architectural Digest

1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Scaglietti

Michael Furman/Architectural Digest

1955 Porsche 550 Spyder

Michael Furman/Architectural Digest

1962 Ferrari 250 GTO

Michael Furman/Architectural Digest

1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa

Michael Furman/Architectural Digest

1954 Ferrari 375 Plus

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1957 Jaguar XKSS

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1955 Jaguar XKD

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1950 Jaguar XK120 Alloy Roadster

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1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic Coupe

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Keep reading at Architectural Digest.

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Click to see more of Ralph Lauren's cars >

Read more: http://www.architecturaldigest.com/celebrity-homes/2013/ralph-lauren-car-collection-article#ixzz2ctoGlLtW

Ralph Lauren Pulls Out All The Stops For First Men's Flasghip Store In Asia

Ralph Lauren knows how to create a world. He knows how to conjure characters from the moneyed and Ivy League class

Inside Ralph Lauren's First Men's Flagship Store In Asia

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Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren's Men's Flagship Store In Asia

Black Label Room

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and house them in environments similar to gilded mansions or gentleman-only clubs and swathe them in the finest cashmere and wool. He did this recently at his first men’s flagship store in Asia, which is located in Hong Kong.

The store is in Central, Hong Kong, home to many massive luxury stores designed by top architects. It is housed in the same building as Chanel (designed by Peter Marino) and the plush and multi-level stores of Van Cleef & Arpels and Cartier. A few feet away are the massive stores of Prada, Bulgari, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co.

The Ralph Lauren men’s store is a similar multi-storey affair, occupying three floors and over 10,000 square feet. From the street, however, you would think that it is larger because its facade features a five-floor recreation of the painting Bridle Path at Hyde Park by French painter Octave Denis Victor Guillonnet. The painting, which shows men in suits riding horses, is part of Lauren’s personal collection. It has been rendered on glass and used as frontage for the store.

Inside the store are worlds upon worlds for the Ralph Lauren man. There is the Purple Label Room featuring the brand’s finest in ready-to-wear and made to measure. Clients can have suits, shirts and shoes custom made. There is a huge selection of fabrics and leather. If you are looking to splurge, a pair of Ralph Lauren crocodile lace ups with your monogram hand stitched on the soles will do the trick.

There is the Black Label Room which features clothing with a modern, slimmer fit. Limited edition car models are on display in this room, all of them available for purchase. There are sections devoted to those iconic polo shirts, leather goods and a few cases housing vintage accessories like cufflinks and barware.

And speaking of bars, this Ralph Lauren store has a bar with complimentary drinks and snacks for customers. Whether that shopper is just buying a necktie or a three-piece made to measure suit, he can order from the bar free of charge. Next to the bar is the handsome Tailor Room for small alterations and beside it is the big made to measure VIP fitting room that’s all polished nickel and glass. The most beautiful feature of the store, for me at least, is the fluid wood paneled staircase that connects all three floors. It’s covered in art and it makes you feel as though you are ascending into someone’s private library.

The store I was told will go to great lengths to satisfy their clients. They want to redefine luxury by making sure their clients can get everything they wish even if that means being measured and fitted in their office or opening the store for them late into the evening or very early morning or arranging a car to take them home and their shopping loot. Is that luxurious enough for you?

Click on the slideshow to see the Ralph Lauren men’s store in Hong Kong.

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Ralph Lauren Is The Richest Man In Fashion

Ralph Lauren is the richest American in fashion, according to the Forbes 400 list released today.

The 72-year-old King of Prep landed No. 52 on the list with a net worth of $6.5 billion, up from $6.1 billion last year. He is the 122nd wealthiest person on the planet.

It has been a good year for the Bronx native, whose vision of upper-crust American prep continues to sell both here and abroad: Revenue hit $1.6 billion for the first fiscal quarter of 2013, up 4% over last year.

Ralph Lauren On the Luxury Of Time Hannah Elliott Forbes Staff

22 images Photos: RALPH LAUREN: The Book

His rise to preeminence is legendary: Lauren left school in 1967 to design ties for Beau Brummel, then launched Polo with $50,000 later that year. 


The company now sells clothing, shoes, jewelry, home goods and fragrances, with Lauren’s gear outfitting American athletes in the 2012 London Summer Olympic games. (A scandal about the fact the uniforms were made in China has been righted by his promise to make the uniforms for the 2014 winter Olympics in the United States.)

Other fashion industry insiders on the Rich List include Leslie Wexner (No. 83, $4.4 billion) who owns the Limited Group and Victoria’s Secret; Richard Hayne (No. 328, $1.4 billion), who owns Urban Outfitters; and several members of Gap’s Fisher family (Doris, No. 142, $2.9 billion; John, No. 206, $2.3 billion; Robert, No. 285, $1.7 billion).

Wexner in particular had a good year–his Victoria’s Secret opened a 40,000-square foot flagship on London’s Bond Street in August, with its first Quebec shop launched in Montreal the same week.

Hayne has also done well, returning to the helm of his trendy clothing chain after long-time CEO Glen Senk resigned in January 2012. Last year sales for the group, which includes Anthropologie and Free People, reached $2.5 billion, a 9% increase compared to the previous year.

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Click for full photo gallery: Ralph Lauren Spring 2013

In broader retail terms, Phil Knight (Nike), James Jannard (Oakley), and Kevin Plank (Under Armor) also made the list, along with several members of the Walton family.

www.forbes.com

Ralph Lauren proyecta menores ingresos en el trimestre actual

La firma estimó que sus ingresos netos caerán en torno a un 5% en el segundo trimestre de su año fiscal 2013, cuando un alza de las ventas en sus propias tiendas compensará parte del declive de los negocios mayoristas con tiendas de departamento y otros minoristas.

Ralph Lauren proyectó este miércoles ingresos menores para el trimestre actual, como consecuencia de una distribución reducida a través de socios en China y del cierre de su marca American Living, opacando el crecimiento de las ganancias que registró en el primer trimestre.

Las acciones del fabricante de indumentaria caían un 2,73%, a US$148,85 en Wall Street.

Ralph Lauren estimó que sus ingresos netos caerán en torno a un 5% en el segundo trimestre de su año fiscal 2013, cuando un alza de las ventas en sus propias tiendas compensará parte del declive de los negocios mayoristas con tiendas de departamento y otros minoristas.

Las ganancias y las ventas superaron las expectativas en su primer trimestre, finalizado el 30 de junio, en comparación con el mismo periodo del año pasado.

ese a que los resultados superaron lo esperado, los inversores se "asustaron" por la postura cautelosa de la gerencia y comentarios pesimistas sobre el impacto del estado de la economía global en el gasto del consumidor y en sus ingresos, dijo el analista de Morningstar Peter Wahlstrom.    

La compañía, famosa por su capacidad para vender una amplia variedad de ropa -desde trajes caros hasta marcas más accesibles como Club Monaco- señaló que el escenario económico sigue siendo duro.

"La perspectiva para el gasto del consumidor y el crecimiento de la economía global sigue siendo desafiante y nosotros estamos planificando de acuerdo a ello", señaló en un comunicado el presidente de operaciones Roger Farah.

Este es el segundo trimestre consecutivo en que Ralph Lauren alerta sobre la perspectiva de un descenso en las ventas. Hace tres meses la compañía advirtió sobre una disminución de las compras entre sus clientes europeos y de clase alta. 

Durante el trimestre, las ventas mayoristas disminuyeron en un porcentaje de dos dígitos en Europa, contrarrestando los robustos números registrados en América del Norte.

Las ventas de Ralph Lauren han sufrido por su decisión de dar de baja a tiendas operadas por socios locales en China y las reemplazó con tiendas propias.

Las ventas de la compañía sufrirán un nuevo golpe porque las tiendas por departamentos J.C. Penney & Co Inc  abandonaron la marca American Living este verano boreal.

La ganancia neta de Ralph Lauren creció un 5,1% a US$193,4 millone, en el trimestre terminado el 30 de junio, desde los US$184,1 millones del mismo período del año anterior.

Los ingresos, en tanto, crecieron un 4,4% a US$1.590 millones. Las ventas minoristas se incrementaron un 3%, mientras que las ventas en tiendas comparables propias crecieron un 1%.

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