Fashion Network

Ralph Lauren, born Ralph Lifshitz, in 1939 in New York, used to study art and design at the City College of New York and business at City College in Manhattan, and dropped out short of receiving his business degree. Ralph used to work after school to earn money and buy suits that were stylish and expensive. His rich taste of attire soon gave him a trendy reputation among his friends.

He attended the Salanter Academy Jewish Day School and Marsha Stem Talmudical Academy (MTA) and finally obtained graduation degree from Dewitt Clinton High School. In MTA he used to sell ties to his fellow students. Before entering into the fashion world he served in United States Army from 1962 to 1964.

His experience in the necktie led him to an idea of laying the foundation of Polo label in 1967. In the mid 90’s Polo Ralph Lauren became a public company, traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RL. Polo Ralph Lauren is now a billion-dollar business.

Lauren is one-of-a-kind designers whose aim is to sell "lifestyle", and carry fashion beyond a single item of cloth like a dress or a pair of pants. His idea of fashion includes the overall personality of a person and everything that goes with it; colognes, perfumes, cosmetics, accessories, sheets, drape and even paint. He is also famous for his collection of classic automobiles.

Ralph Lauren possesses over 35 boutiques in U.S. There were 23 locations that include Atlanta, Beverly Hills, Boston, Chevy Chase, Chicago, Costa Mesa, Dallas Denver, Honolulu, Houston, Las Vegas, Manhasset, New York, Palm Beach, Palo Alto, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Short Hills, Troy, and Washington DC.

His innovativeness is the secret behind his success as a businessman that has made him the founder, designer and chairman of a company that is worth several millions of dollars. He is not only the first fashion designer to have his own store but also the one who sells the whole lifestyle image that has made the most preferred designers globally. He is much more than a provider of designer clothes and home furnishings; he is the one stop that caters all your needs relating to lifestyle image of sophistication, class and taste.

In the year 1968, Klein and his friend Barry Schwartz laid the foundation of Calvin Klein Limited, a coat shop located at the York Hotel in New York City that later on turned into the vehicle for the wide-ranging lifestyle enhancing products visualized by an expert in the field of fashion, cosmetics and fragrances.

Within a year of inception a buyer from Bonwit Teller placed an order of $50,000 which was indeed a red letter day for the company. Klein met the expectation of Bonwit Teller staff and introduced his first collection of men's and women's coats that was featured at the New York City store. In 1969, he appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine. In 1971 he added sportswear, classic blazers and lingerie to his range of women’s collection. He received the prestigious Coty award for his unique 74-piece women swear collection.

By 1977, he further expanded his market by obtaining licenses for scarves, shoes, belts, furs, sunglasses, sheets, cosmetics, jeans, and menswear. In 1978 he managed to make a giant leap by claiming sales of 200,000 pairs of his famous jeans in the first week they were introduced on the market. By 1981, his annual income figured at $8.5 million as stated in the Fortune Magazine.

He created ripples in the market by creating designer jeans which portrays his name on the back pocket and was advertised with a commercial that featured America’s favorite teasey teen at the time, Brook Shields exclaiming "nothing comes between me and my Calvins."

In the later years the company received a jolt when their line of fragrance and cosmetics failed to meet the expectation of consumers and were soon withdrawn from the market with huge financial losses. In the early 80’s the passion ignited by the Calvin Klein range of designer jeans reached its all time high. A highly successful range of boxer shorts for women and men’s underwear collection set up record sales that grossed $70 million in the very first year.

Their underwear business was promoted in the later 90’s with massive billboards exhibiting images of pop singer "Marky Mark." Calvin Klein ranges of cloth were sold through 12,000 stores in the United States and were available in six other countries. His income crossed over $12 million per annum.

In the later years Klein shocked the fashion world, when he announced that he was considering selling his fashion house but soon he changed his decision. In 1993 he was named ‘America’s best designer’.

Nowadays Calvin Klein Limited is a globally recognized fashion, design and Retail Company shaping the future of fashion design.

Born March 24, 1951, New York, in an Irish Catholic family Tommy Hilfiger is a well-known American fashion designer has been instrumental in bringing revolution in retail clothing market and creator of distinguished brands such as, “Tommy Hilfiger” and “Tommy.” He entered into the retail at an age of 18. Hilfiger would walk down to New York City to get his hands on jeans and bell-bottom pants which he personalized and resold at a local downtown Elmira, New York store, Brown’s.

In the later years he opened his own store known as ‘The People's Place.’ His business failed to meet the expectation of people and after seven years at the age of 25 he went bankrupt. Thereafter he started designing clothes for the rest of his stores in upstate New York (a total of 10), and moved to New York City with his wife. Even though he got the opportunity to work as design assistant with major players in the field of designing like Calvin Klein and Perry Ellis but he turned down the offers as he has greater plans in mind.

Hilfiger took over the company of Mohan Murjani (Gloria Vanderbilt jeans) with the help of two partners. A year after Tommy Hilfiger, Inc. was founded, the company went public and built the company into the empire it is at present.

Hilfiger remained the President of the company from 1982 to 1989, and has designed clothes under the Tommy label since 1984. In 1992, he became the Director of the Company and later Honorary Chairman of the Board and Principal Designer in 1994.

In 2007, Tommy Hilfiger sold his company for $ 1.6 billion, or $ 16.80 a share, to Apax Partners. Hilfiger lives with his wife and four children. His daughter Ally was featured in the popular MTV reality show Rich Girls. His son Rich Hil has been signed by Hip Hop super producer Swiss Beatz’ label Full Surface.