Polo (the brand) and Hip-Hop

[dwyanewadeog]

Thought this was a good read. I made this thread in general rather than music because it is social commentary.
Speaks to Polo being the quintessential hip-hop brand for reasons ranging from the similar beginnings of polo and hip-hop and what polo represents in the hiphop/black community.

edit: Should of made notes as I read it so I could provide you guys with cliff notes. I didn't. sorry.

Originally created as a protest music rallying against white abandonment of primarily black urban space, hip-hop (as a subculture) originally sought to deliberately separate itself from the very system responsible for the destruction of its members (and paradoxically, for the creation of hip-hop itself.) Despite constant attempts to define itself outside of the preexisting culture, hip-hop’s roots in urban renewal made it impossible for hip-hop to adopt a pervasive ethos of apathy and rejection towards widely accepted examples of societal success, like the punks and situationists before them had done. Instead, hip-hop has triumphed the idea of success, and in doing so, has taken common notions of success (particularly material acquisitions) and exaggerated them to the point of both absurdity and spectacle. Such an attitude towards wealth and success blends nicely with hip-hop’s insistence on existing in the public sphere. Through street corner rap battles, train cars covered in graffiti, and break dancing competitions in public parks, hip-hop replicates and re-imagines the experiences of urban life and symbolically appropriates urban space through sampling, attitude, dance, style, and sound effects. Moreover, hip-hop has always been a subculture that relies heavily on outside visibility for its own validation. While expensive homes, automobiles, and other luxury items have often been a key component in the aspirational lifestyle commonly portrayed in rap videos for decades, clothing has proven to be a more accessible yet just as meaningful arena for members of the hip-hop subculture to showcase their material success while still allowing the individual to openly affiliate themselves with hip-hop as whole. No clothing brand has more fully encompassed this aim for universal acknowledgement of the wearer’s wealth while still remaining true to the principles of authenticity so prized by hip-hop than Ralph Lauren’s Polo. Due to shared origins, an obsession to detail, and an appreciation for mixing the old with the new, Polo represents hip-hop’s unique ability to modify existing cultural forms to fit its needs, a subtle twist on the idea of détournement presented by Guy Debord. In attempt to more clearly illustrate the relationship between hip-hop and Ralph Lauren, I will first examine the philosophical and aesthetic links between the two before discussing Polo’s more literal history within the hip-hop community. It is my goal to present the Polo brand as hip-hop’s version of punk’s leather jacket: articles of clothing that function as garments but also as signifiers, serving to cement the charged relationship between garment, subculture, and individual.

In order to understand hip-hop’s obsession with Polo, it is first important to understand the story of the Polo brand itself, and its founder, Ralph Lauren. Born Ralph Lif****z in 1939 in the Bronx, Lauren began his career in the fashion business in high school when he began working in department stores. Always understanding the importance of branding, he changed his name to Lauren in the mid-1950’s, and took his first real job in the fashion business designing ties for the Beau Brummell brand in 1967. After experiencing success at Brummell, Lauren launched his own line, Polo, aimed at merging the best in functional, classic style from both English and American influences. Lauren announced the first season of his women’s line four years later in 1971, and his overall success was so great that he was selected to design costumes for the 1973 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Lauren’s success continued to grow through the 1980’s, allowing him to open 116 standalone Polo Ralph Lauren stores in addition to 1,300 Polo boutiques in larger department stores. In 1997, thirty years after he got his start, Polo announced sales of over five billion dollars, the ultimate affirmation of success for a Jewish boy from the Bronx.

To say that Ralph Lauren had any interest in the hip-hop community would be an overstatement; a cursory look the polo.com website reveals a company with a clearly defined aesthetic steeped in east-coast upper-class American traditions, a far cry from the less refined, more visceral styles associated with hip-hop. However, both hip-hop and Ralph Lauren share common aesthetic values that have dictated the evolution of their respective styles. Most obviously, both hip-hop and Lauren are obsessed with the idea of status as a readable attribute. For Lauren, this has manifested itself most clearly in the advertising associated with his brand. One famous Polo advertisement simply shows Lauren’s McLaren F1, a car worth close to a million dollars, sitting in front of a sprawling mansion, with the words “Polo Ralph Lauren

 

[kareem the dream]

How srs are you??

Im sure there's a youtube video that can suffice

 

[datrealballa12]

It's Cinco De Mayo ..I'm not reading unless its cliffs, Bra

 

[mmg]

Too long, now with that being said


All this polo on I got horse power

 

[Bend_The_Knee]

didnt read that but all i got to say is Thirstin Howl III is Polo

 

[dwileykyot]

no way i'm reading all that
But I remember when Hilfiger was the business and the whole racist comments supposedly popped off and then i switched to polo.

Maybe it was different for everybody else, but after 9th grade I was all about Ralph (around '98ish)

 

[bigsid]

Cliffs my !$%#+...cliffs.

 

[tr1ll]

I stopped reading at Kanye West.

 

[DownByLaw]

Originally Posted by DatRealBalla12

It's Cinco De Mayo ..I'm not reading unless its cliffs, Bra

You weren't reading if it were any other day of the year

 

[ruxxx]

Originally Posted by GotHolesInMySocks

didnt read that but all i got to say is Thirstin Howl III is a PoloRICAN

Make a greatest hits album with only skits get on stage at the Apollo and BOO THE AUDIENCE!

 

[dabottom305]

Originally Posted by DatRealBalla12

It's Cinco De Mayo, Saturday, and I rather read cliffs ..I'm not reading unless its cliffs, Bra

 

[jordan supreme]

no one's gonna read that... cliffs are needed!

 

[sofa king awsm]

CLIFFS

 

[AZwildcats]

no can do

 

[heatking]

 

[no stackson]

Lmfao anything over a paragraph gets no love in 2012 on NikeTalk.

 

[mags on fire]

 

[black chiney]

Originally Posted by Mags on fire

 

[ricky409]

I read it and have cliffs

Polo and hip hop are synonymous
Black people cop polo to fit in with rich white people
Black people only think white people can be rich
Polo is acclaimed by the fashion world but not totally accepted... just like hip hop gets praise but is neveraccepted... didn't quite understand this point

 

[rick2345]

"I BIN HAD POLO"

 

[solexsup]

Did not read a damn thing.

 

[navarretr]

No cliffs? Read some of it though. Interesting read

 

[y0ung j33zy]

Its simple
Polo is expensive -> Rappers talk about it to display their wealth -> Fans with screwed up priorities follow 

 

[ninjahood]

Originally Posted by y0ung j33zy

Its simple
Polo is expensive -> Rappers talk about it to display their wealth -> Fans with screwed up priorities follow 

there's also da dynamic of embracing a brand that is not urban in nature, and making it uniquely urban but still retain a high level of class.

 

[JayDizzle]

ask My man Thirstin Howl III aka Chef Survival Kit