The $50,000 Suit

My first job out of college was managing the Made-to-Measure program at Ralph Lauren for the company’s United States fleet retail locations, approximately 55 locations in 2012 that housed the “bespoke” expression of the designer’s behemoth company.

Mr. Lauren was always an admirer of British textiles and a very natural finish. He detested fabrics that had luster or a white backing that washed out the design. This specific and critical view certainly created the world that until then only existed in his mind, but when you saw it, you knew right away that it was “Very Ralph”. His philosophy of textiles and aethestic was supported by his designers and production team that knew the small Italian, French, and British houses that could help Ralph’s dreams come to life.

In my role leading the Made-to-Measure Clothing division as a buyer and merchant, I had the rare opportunity to liase with boutique textile artisans