Ask anyone at the company and they'll tell you this was no ordinary brand extension, it was not even based on business sense; it was personal. Launched as a kind of pet project in 1993, financially it floundered for years until it was relaunched with Maritzio Donaldi at the helm.
Lauren's approach made RRL even more vintage than vintage - age old parachutes, flags, blankets, denim and more were used to make new product itself made to look authentically old.
Other items were recreations of styles selected from Laurens vision of America's rugged past.
Unlike the majority of vintage based labels, what seemed to inspire Lauren had less to do with an urge to replicate iconical pieces of clothing and more to do with a feeling, an emotion, a desire to recapture a romantic moment through clothes.
It was more nostalgic than nostalgia because it was the desire to create a palpable response to a non-existent past. While most vintage inspired brands want to impress us with fact, detail and archival accuracy, RRL 'til now, seduced us by a very singular fantasy.
What'll be interesting to see is if this compelling principle remains the case as it moves online.
