Ralph Lauren lines, and 'who makes what' - a definitive guide

[cgo]

Originally Posted by water

Are the blue label Corneliani-made suits discontinued?

I recently got my hands on a Jerome IV that fits beautifully. I was hoping to find more...

Do you happen to have a photo of a RCSDP tag? How do I tell if they are the Sartoria level? I heard that some RLBL is also made to that standard?

Thanks

 

[yerrow]

Polo suits are not being discontinued, i saw a full wall of them this afternoon

 

[clee1982]

I think people were specifically refering to the Corneliani-made polo suit, not sure who makes them now.

Originally Posted by yerrow

Polo suits are not being discontinued, i saw a full wall of them this afternoon

 

[yerrow]

Polo as its referred to...not blue label (thats womens) is still made by corneliani

 

[drducky]

The Jerome III and IV models are the "signature" blue label line that IS unfortunately discontinued
the Polo I - IV models are the Polo lines and are still made
all by Corneliani

 

[DutchDaedalus]

Nice thread. Keep up the good work.

 

[hankwx]

this thread is not that old so ill add a question to bring it back to life.

for RL's women line...does anyone know who makes what? im interested in finding out the italian made blue label, italian and usa made black label, and all the collection items. what about the shoes?

 

[KitAkira]

Isn't RRL Rodeo Ralph Lauren?

 

[bigbris1]

Who makes Lauren Ralph Lauren out of Canada?

 

[gomestar]

Originally Posted by bigbris1

Who makes Lauren Ralph Lauren out of Canada?

Peerless? I forget the name.

 

[I. Gentantithesis]

RLPL tailored clothing
Premier line is made by SantAndrea www.st-santandrea.it Saint Andrews was founded in 1968 by Dario Zaffagnini(sp?). Cantarelli acquired S.A., one thinks earlier in this decade, and subsequently sold the S.A. facilities and line to Gruppo Trabaldo Togna, an Italian textile firm, in the spring of 2006. Togna renamed from Saint Andrews (named for a coffee shop in Milan) to Sartoria SantAndrea Milano to reflect the Italian location. The original RLPL tailored clothing line was made from 1994 until circa 2001 by the defunct Chester Barrie, Crewe, England. RLPL suits of similar fabrics immediately increased in price about 50% with the change to Saint Andrews, more hand work being a major factor. (eBayers claiming an original $3500 price for a non-cashmere RLPL CB suit are laboring under a misapprehension. A CB RLPL 140's suit retailed for $2500 or less, most averaged around $2000 in the late '90s. A CB RLPL cashmere sport coat circa $2000-2200) Current SA RLPL suits are circa $4000 or more, anything much less is definitely not SA.

There is a secondary RLPL tailored line made by, arguably, Cantarelli or Caruso. They just keep diffusing & confusing. Dunno, it's debated elsewhere. A few years ago I compared similar plain linen RLPL secondary and Polo sport coats. Each were priced $995. I prefered the Polo, although the RLPL may have had a full canvas front compared to the Polo's half-canvas and fused. The secondary RLPL suits and sport coats did not begin to compare to the St. Andrews, some of which were very, very lightly padded in the shoulder ($3700 silk gaberdine/gabardine suit)

Polo Ralph Lauren tailored clothing
Norman Hilton backed RL with a $50,000 loan in the early '70s and was bought out with $500,000 circa 1977. Early Polo suits were made by Hilton until a disagreement over shoulder treatment drove RL to Lanham Ltd. clothes of Lowell, Mass. circa 1974-5. NH continued to use PRL patterns as NH "Fox" model. Polo bought Lanham circa 1977 and changed the name to Polo Ralph Lauren Tailored Clothing, under the guidance of Critt Rawlings who had worked for Hilton. Rawlings went to Oxxford in 1985. PRL Tailored Clothing made its own suits and sport coats until the early '90s. The tailored clothing was then licensed to Pietrafesa, Syracuse, N.Y. until 1999. Pietrafesa withered. Licensing was then transferred to Cornelaini www.corneliani.com Mantova, Italy. In earlier years PRL's SEC Form 10K filings indicated a licensing agreement with Cornelaini. This was not the case in fiscal 2009, so the main PRL tailored goods supplier may have changed. Or, it could be just a change in licensee reporting on federal forms.

Chaps tailored clothing was originally labeled Chaps by Ralph Lauren in the '70s. It was about 2/3 the price of Polo and made by Glanzrock, or Glanrock?, a former Brooks Brothers contractor. In the early '80s Polo initiated Polo University, a brand similar in price to Chaps but perhaps only available in Polo shops of the time. Polo University was later a PRL factory outlet brand and eventually faded. Lauren came much later as yet another line in the same price range as Chaps. I think Lauren was originally licensed to Jones Apparel Group (Jones NY). Jones sued Polo and Polo sued Jones. Garmentos. I think Chaps and Lauren are currently licensed to Peerless in Canada, although perhaps made in the Orient. If you view store locations by state on the Polo website, once you pass the RL stores, Polo stockists and golf pro shops you'll start seeing Kohl's locations, unless that's been changed. That relates to the Chaps brand.

 

[vitaminc]

Seems like every tailoring house RL outsourced to went bankrupt one way or the other.

 

[bigbris1]

Originally Posted by gomestar

Peerless? I forget the name.

Correct

 

[rebel222]

Originally Posted by bigbris1

Correct

Wow. I can't believe RL will let them publish that. They also make Sean John. Love that stuff

 

[sho'nuff]

im saddened to see that Michael Kors is in that grouping.