By Suzanne Kapner
A Ralph Lauren Christmas is defined by rich textures: wool, velvet, leather, dark woods, classic tartan patterns, pine cones and candles. There are also many things it isn't: no bright green garlands, no mixing of plaids in the same room, and no gift bags under the tree. All presents should be in boxes that are wrapped in coordinating paper and ribbon.
These aren't official Ralph Lauren rules but a set dictated by the youths of TikTok, who have embraced the brand's cozy, timeless holiday aesthetic this season. The trend has fueled a frenzied hunt for vintage Ralph Lauren home decor: eBay searches for that category were up 250% in November compared with the same month in 2024. Young people are flocking to stores, too, eager to immerse themselves in the vibe.
After years of resisting the preppy brand worn by their parents (and their grandparents before that), many of them have decided that Ralph Lauren is actually pretty cool.
President and Chief Executive Patrice Louvet said he can't take credit for the Ralph Lauren Christmas trend. But since joining the company in 2017, he has been on a quest to win over Gen Z consumers -- and keep them for the next 50 years.
In many ways the brand was stuck in the past. Its main form of communicating with customers was through glossy print ads. Many of its iconic products hadn't been updated for new generations.
"We looked at that younger generation and it was pretty clear that we were not talking to him or her," Louvet said in an interview.
The former Procter & Gamble executive put a plan in motion to connect with this age group.
His strategy called for collaborating with other relevant brands, communities and artists; developing new products that would appeal to younger shoppers; while also tweaking and styling its icons to suit different generations. It boosted its digital and social-media presence and poured money into marketing, which currently totals about 7.3% of the company's $7.1 billion in annual sales, up from 3.3% of sales in 2017.
Elements of the strategy dovetailed with the authenticity, inclusion and self-expression themes that resonate with Gen Z. But Ralph Lauren also benefited from the tailwinds of other trends popular with this age group, such as nostalgia, quiet luxury and a resurgence of preppy dressing.
"I viewed the brand for preppy styles geared to an older generation," said Lavinia Gabriele, a 26-year-old New Yorker, who works in retail. That was until she walked into a Ralph Lauren store recently and saw a cowboy-themed collection of fringe jackets and silk skirts. "It was all very cool," she said.
Louvet had to tread carefully. He couldn't risk turning off older shoppers and he had to stay true to the company's DNA, which has been carefully crafted since its founding in 1967.
Founder Ralph Lauren, at age 86, is still involved in daily operations as the executive chairman and chief creative officer. He has drawn on many themes over the years, from the American West to Savile Row, but he made them all his own, embodying the essence of classic American style. You know a Ralph Lauren look when you see it, and Louvet couldn't mess with that.
"There is one rule, which is to always be authentic to who we are," Louvet said.
While the company has collaborated with buzzy brands such as Fortnite, Roblox and the skate label Palace, it is also leaning into partnerships with communities and cultures that have inspired Lauren over his nearly 60-decade career.
In 2022, Ralph Lauren created a collection inspired by two historically Black colleges, Morehouse and Spelman. In July, it introduced a collection influenced by Oak Bluffs, the historically Black community on Martha's Vineyard. It has also partnered with Native American artisans such textile weaver Naiomi Glasses as part of its artist in residence program.
"We think of that as the more modern way to drive win-win collaborations, " Louvet said.
At the same time, it used data collected from consumer panels and digital analytics and married those insights with Lauren's design vision to create products that resonated with Gen Z, according to Halide Alagöz, chief product and merchandising officer.
One home run: The Polo ID bag. Ranging in price from $328 to $998, it is relatively affordable compared with the thousands of dollars that European designer bags cost. And when fans started posting "what fits inside" videos on social media, showing off the bag's capacity to easily hold their keys, wallet and phone, it went viral.
For iconic products such as its cable-knit sweater, it added different silhouettes like slim and relaxed fits. It took something as simple as a white polo shirt and styled it differently for different generations. For the younger crowd, it might be paired with jeans and a Polo baseball cap, its collar effortlessly flipped up. For the older set, it is shown with a blazer and chinos.
These moves helped the brand show up organically on social media. "So many Gen Z actually post on our behalf," Iris Langlois-Meurinne, Ralph Lauren's global chief marketing officer told investors in September. She said that Ralph Lauren's customers are getting younger each quarter and that the fastest-growing segment is Gen Z.
Some of the biggest successes haven't been dictated by the C-suite. When Taylor Swift announced her engagement to Travis Kelce, she did so with a photo shoot in which she donned a striped Ralph Lauren dress. The company had no advance notice that the superstar singer-songwriter and her NFL star fiancé would be wearing its clothes to share some of the biggest pop-culture news of the year. The dress sold out within minutes. (Kelce was in a Polo shirt and khaki shorts).
"It shows that we are weaving the brand into the fabric of the culture and things are just igniting on their own," Louvet said.
To make the brand more aspirational, Louvet dialed back discounts and reduced its footprint in deal-dependent department stores. A measure that reflects the average prices and mix of products Ralph Lauren sells has climbed for 34 straight quarters, as consumers traded up to higher priced items such as sweaters and suits and the brand reduced discounts and raised some prices. Ralph Lauren shares are up nearly 57% this year through Friday's close.
The company has zeroed in on Gen Z's desire for experiences through its roughly 40 Ralph's Coffee shops, trucks and kiosks, which have a vintage-inspired feel.
Ralph Lauren now ranks second to Gucci in terms of brands most desirable to consumers under age 35, according to market research firm Kantar. That compares to fifth place in 2021.
Lindsey Hyams, a 24-year-old beauty marketer, makes the pilgrimage to Ralph's Coffee truck in Rockefeller Center from her home in Freehold, N.J., each December before heading to the brand's Upper East Side store to buy gifts for friends and family.
"You can go to a mall and get a Starbucks, but Ralph's Coffee is more exclusive," she said.
Hyams said the Ralph Lauren Christmas images populating social media fuel her generation's desire for nostalgia.
"When you have the aesthetic of a Ralph Lauren Christmas in your house, it brings back memories of what your parents would have done," she said.
Write to Suzanne Kapner at suzanne.kapner@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 22, 2025 12:00 ET (17:00 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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