Living Proof - Outfit Architecture 2.0

In 1967, the Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation was launched by Ralph Lauren, a 28 year-old born to a working-class immigrant family in the Bronx. By the early ‘80s, Polo became synonymous with status and sophistication, and was worn predominantly by upper-class white families and sold in high-end department stores across the United States.  

Amongst youth in the dangerous, impoverished neighborhoods of New York during the cities’ crack epidemic, the flashy designs of notoriously expensive Ralph Lauren gear became symbolic of their aspirations to make it out of the conditions which they were born into. To be seen and photographed rocking Polo head to toe communicated an elevated social status, and further fueled their desires to acquire the clothing by any means possible. 

Within the developing cultures of hip-hop and graffiti, youth had begun to practice boosting for financial gain, or to obtain paint and designer gear for themselves at no cost. By the late ‘80s, Ralph Lauren clothing became the primary target of two boosting crews from Crown Heights and Brownsville, who would soon unite and become known as the Lo Lifes. 

The items boosted and worn dictated which gear would become the most sought-after, and carried heavy influence on the styles that were present in New York’s downtown scene throughout the 90’s and onward.