Before starting his own business, Ralph Lauren worked for the tie manufacturer Beau Brummell.
Lauren joined Beau Brummell in 1967, when he was 28. The company gave him an opportunity to develop and sell his own designs as a division within the established neckwear business. His ties stood out for their wider proportions, rich fabrics and bold patterns at a time when narrower styles were common.
That arrangement became the bridge between Lauren’s work as a salesman and his career as an independent designer. He persuaded the company’s president to let him create his own line, which he called Polo. The success of those ties helped him establish the Ralph Lauren business in 1967.
Brooks Brothers is a frequent wrong answer because Lauren did work there earlier as a sales assistant. He also worked as a salesman for Rivetz, another neckwear company. But Beau Brummell was the manufacturer connected directly to the launch of his own line.