The History of Polo Bear by Ralph Lauren

The earliest origins of the Polo Bear collection can be considered intertwined with and traced back alongside the history of the teddy bear itself to 1902, as The Washington Post ran a now infamous cartoon of then president Theodore Roosevelt sparing the life of a bear while on a hunt. Toy sellers were quick to capitalise on the popularity of the story, naming their bears in honour of the president and the name "Teddy" has been synonymous ever since. One of the sellers in question was Richard Steiff in Germany, whose eponymous company remains one of the largest toy bear manufacturers in the world to this day with their products being collected by Jerry Lauren (Brother of Ralph).

In 1990, as colleagues got word of this collection, they grouped together to dress a Steiff bear in an outfit inspired by Jerry's style and present it to him for his birthday. The gift was so well received that only a year later, in partnership with Steiff, an similarly dressed teddy bear was produced for people to buy from Ralph Lauren. An initial production run of 200 sold out over a single weekend and, most importantly, a signature motif of the brand for years to come had been discovered.

Over the years that followed the Polo Bear would go from appearing on the front of a sweatshirt with only two colour options, to being front and centre of a national advertising campaign for Ralph Lauren. Several more limited edition runs of bears would also be produced before the brand's partnership with Steiff abruptly ended in 2001, and production of the themed clothing items was scaled back in a similar fashion. Despite lasting 12 years, in 2013 Polo Bear's absence was brought to an end due to the introduction of the so-called "Bring It Back" campaign from Ralph Lauren, wherein customers would vote on which iconic vintage designs to bring back into the fold. 

Polo Bear's reintroduction has led to its discovery by a wide range of new fans across a variety of demographics, reinforcing the timeless appeal of the character and its inimitable style.

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