Courtesy Ralph Lauren
David Lauren, Lauren Bush Lauren, Andrew Lauren, Ricky Lauren, Prince Charles, Ralph Lauren, Dylan Lauren, Paul Arrouet.Victoria Jones/PA Images/Getty Images
Lauren is the first American designer to receive such an honor. Other American recipients of U.K. KBE or MBE include Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, former New York City Mayors Michael Bloomberg and Rudolph Giuliani, plusAngelina Jolie, Steven Spielberg and Bill and Melinda Gates.
The brand, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, has a special tie to London. The Ralph Lauren Centre for Breast Cancer Research opened at The Royal Marsden in June 2016, and is at the forefront of international breast cancer research, with a focus in the field of molecular testing. It has been committed to leading research into early diagnosis and the development of new treatments.
This month, the Ralph Lauren Corporation will fund the building of a new state-of-the-art facility at The Royal Marsden, bringing together more than 300 researchers alongside 140,000 expected patients each year.
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“I warmly congratulate Ralph Lauren on this award that recognizes these efforts and achievements over the past 50 years. In his storied career in fashion, business, and philanthropy, Mr. Lauren has played a key role in forging transatlantic cultural and economic connections,” British Consul General to New York and Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for North America, Antony Phillipson, said in a statement when the news was announced in November 2018.
Members of the British royal family have worn the brand on multiple occasions.
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Meghan Marklewore a Ralph Lauren striped button-up with white culottesto Wimbledon in 2018 on her first solo outing withKate Middleton.Middletonwore a black and white Ralph Lauren shirtdress just days after giving birth toPrincess Charlottein May 2015. AndPrincess Dianafamously wore a white lace halter neck Ralph Lauren gown to the 1996 White House dinner.
Throughout Lauren’s career he has also been honored with the Key to the City of New York from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the French Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur and the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal. He won Womenswear and Menswear Designer of the Year, Retailer of the Year and the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from The Council of Fashion Designers of America, as well as the CFDA’s Humanitarian Leadership Award and the American Fashion Legend Award.
source: people.com
