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RRL – History, Philosophy, and Iconic Products

Americana goodness from Mr. Ralph Lauren’s ranch

James Smith

Few designers have managed to navigate so many areas of the consumer market like Ralph Lauren. Conceived in the wake of Ivy League style, the Polo Ralph Lauren label has maintained a strong presence in the fashion world since 1967 through its range of timeless pieces – each charmingly simple, clean-cut, and oh-so American.

While Polo Ralph Lauren is chiefly known for soft-tailored sportswear and preppy garb, the RRL label is Ralph Lauren’s venture into the world of heritage workwear and Americana style he holds close to his heart. Focussing on creating high-quality pieces that are steeped in history, RRL is naturally centered on denim, allowing the brand to resonate with vintage lovers and the raw denim community alike.

So, if you thought Ralph Lauren was strictly oxford shirts, chinos, and embroidered polo horsemen, allow us to enlighten you with our rundown on RRL.

Brand History & Philosophy

The beginnings of RRL (pronounced ‘Double RL’) are somewhat enigmatic, but it is generally believed that the brand formed after Ralph Lauren (the man) purchased a ranch in Colorado in the late 1980s.

Nestled in over 15,000 acres of land, the ranch was bought as an escape, but its rural locale soon inspired Lauren to explore the worlds of Western workwear and vintage Americana. Before long, Ralph Lauren manifested these new influences with a new sub-label to his Polo mainline, named Polo Country.

This new label was not only influenced by the American West but also from the British countryside lifestyle. This saw the Polo Country collections of the late 80s and early 90s use waxed cotton, cable knits, and tweed in addition to denim, which was typically heavily washed.

This was not the first time that Ralph Lauren had explored such aesthetics – the Polo Ralph Lauren ‘Santa Fe’ collection of the early 1980s featured much of the same textures, fabrics, and patterns, as well as the Native American influences that would appear in the later-established RRL label.

In 1993, Ralph Lauren decided to create a completely separate brand to market his Americana-inspired clothing and thus, RRL was born. But this re-branding came with a new concept. With the untamed American countryside of his idyllic Colorado ranch as his stimulus, Ralph Lauren looked to the workwear worn by the gold rush miners and ranch hands of the mid-to-late 1800s as well as the military garb of the American Civil War and World Wars, to inspire his new label.

As a result, RRL encapsulated the heritage of the American West. Leather boots and jackets, Navajo-print blankets, and of course, blue denim – raw and distressed – were just some of the key elements of the RRL world.

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RRL Today

Twenty-five years after its conception, RRL is still operating today, with brick-and-mortar stores across the United States, Japan, and London, as well as a fleet of selected boutique stockists.

It is said that Ralph Lauren himself has a hand in selecting stockists and in the design of the RRL stores, each of which praised for its unique perks and curation of carefully selected vintage articles that sit harmoniously with RRL products. Heavily faded denim jackets, old native blankets, rusty metalwork, and patina-soaked leather furniture all make for breathtaking stores that feel like you’ve walked into a private sale at the RRL ranch. Stores are typically chock full of clothing, footwear, and accessories, just like a healthily stocked dry goods store in the early 20th century.

RRL produces a wide range of vintage-inspired clothing, spanning from tassel-ridden suede jackets and bohemian blankets, to officer chinos and tube-knit t-shirts, and almost everything in between. The brand is committed to creating accurate reproductions by using carefully selected fabrics, decent hardware, and well-researched details. By tweaking fits and silhouettes ever-so-slightly, RRL manages to breathe a new lease of life into these reproductions, allowing them to slot into the modern wardrobe with ease.

If there’s one fabric that can embody American workwear, it’s blue denim, and that’s why amongst all of RRL’s heritage clothing, denim is certainly the nucleus. RRL’s East-West denim is a fabric meticulously created to mirror the denim of the early 1900s.

To create this fabric, specially selected Tennessee cotton is shipped to Okayama, the denim capital of Japan, where it is rope-dyed with indigo and woven into selvedge denim on shuttle looms. After the fabric is sanforized to reduce shrinkage, the finished rolls of raw denim are then flown back to California, where it’s cut and sewn into RRL jeans and jackets. Every pair of jeans is completed with a leather waist patch with RRL branding.

Although East-West denim is a love affair with superior quality and vintage hallmarks, a chunk of RRL’s non-denim garment production takes place in Portugal, Turkey, and China, due to Ralph Lauren’s longstanding manufacturing ties with the Far East. This doesn’t affect the quality too much, but non-denim garments can have less nuance than their Japanese or American-made counterparts.

Iconic RRL Products

East-West Denim

The aforementioned East-West selvedge denim is used on a variety of RRL Jeans, from raw to washed silhouettes. Made in the USA, each pair is finished with a button fly, riveted coin pocket with RRL branding, chainstitched hems, and a branded leather waist patch. In addition, RRL jeans often come in three inseam-length options – a rare choice in the world of selvedge denim.

RRL East West Slim Fit Bootcut Raw Selvedge Denim Jeans, available for $375 from Huckberry.

RRL Vintage 5 Pocket Jean, Givins Wash, available for $459 from STAG.

Ralph Lauren Vintage 5 Pocket Jeans East-West Raw Selvedge Denim, available for $375 from Ralph Lauren.

Slim Fit Selvedge

The Slim Fit Selvedge Jean is one of RRL’s most popular pieces. Turning up numerous times in our weekly fade features, these five-pocket jeans feature a mid-to-low rise and a slim leg from the thigh down.

Available from $375 at Huckberry.

Shawl Collar Sweaters

Available from $595 from STAG.

Hand Tooled Leather Goods

Available at STAG from $95

Alston Roughout Suede Jacket

Available for $1900 at Huckberry.