Inside PoloFest, the Tokyo Event Celebrating the Cult of Vintage Ralph Lauren

It was early this summer when I set out to track down one very specific piece from Ralph Lauren: the silk jacquard striped blazer in look 12 from the brand’s spring/summer 2003 runway collection. I had been reminded of it while flipping through the recently released Ralph Lauren: Catwalk, and, as is often the case with vintage, the discovery quickly became an obsession. I eventually found the jacket on the resale market, only for my orders to be canceled or disappear somewhere in transit. For all my efforts, the vintage jacket remained out of reach. The hunt, however, was its own kind of education in the cult of collecting Ralph Lauren.

In 2026, that pursuit feels particularly timely. Ralph Lauren ranked eighth overall in the Lyst Index’s third-quarter report, underscoring the enduring appeal of the American fashion house whose influence stretches well beyond the runway. As interest in the brand’s history intensifies, its vintage pieces have taken on renewed currency among collectors, offering not simply a way to shop the label, but an opportunity to trace its evolving visual language across decades. The launch of Ralph Lauren Vintage last year, with its curated selection of authenticated archival pieces available online and in stores, offered a formal acknowledgment of a market that collectors have long understood.