Behind The Design

The Polo Bear

Featuring the Polo Country Bear

A Ralph Lauren Western-inspired country bear first came to life in 1993 as a Steiff teddy. Five years later, the version seen here, inspired by a photograph of Ralph, was born as a graphic. After settling on an initial outfit concept, research on both archival bear sketches and classic 1930s pickup trucks resulted in the final design and composition. At Jerry Lauren’s suggestion, the blue truck in the original image (shown here) was changed to a bright red color—resulting in a quintessential icon of Polo Americana.