FEATURE
Ralph Lauren’s first animated short film sends Polo Bear on a six-minute art caper. THE POLO CHRONICLE
by THE FASHIONOGRAPHY R
alph Lauren’s most charming muse has finally stepped off the sweater and onto the screen. The Polo Bear—longtime
emblem of the house’s preppy irreverence— takes center stage in The Polo Bear Chronicles: Operation Black Tie, a six-minute animated short that recasts the cuddly icon as the hero of an art caper. The full film premieres August 14 on YouTube, following the release of its sleek, cinematic trailer. The plot unfolds like a dream sequence stitched from Ralph Lauren’s archives. A Manhattan townhouse glimmers under dim jazz. Sharp tailoring cuts the air as the bear glides through moonlit galleries, onto brownstone stoops, across beachside terraces, and into the lush green of a polo estate. A streetwise pigeon joins him for the chase—an unlikely partner in the retrieval of stolen art, both impeccably dressed for the occasion. What makes this short remarkable is not just the whimsy of the character but the way it serves as a living portfolio of Ralph Lauren’s visual codes. Each setting acts as a runway, each outfit a wink to the brand’s archives: the tuxedoed gallantry, the collegiate stripes, the effortless sportswear chic. It is nostalgia sharpened with modern polish, translating decades of design into a moving narrative that feels at once fresh and familiar. Since his debut in 1990, Polo Bear has graduated from novelty sweater motif to brand legend. Generations have worn him with equal parts irony and affection, proof that this stitched character has always carried something larger than fashion: a story, a world, a lifestyle. With Operation Black Tie, Ralph Lauren turns that world cinematic, offering a six-minute immersion in the house’s codes—polish, wit, and an enduring wink. The bear isn’t just wearing the brand anymore. He is the brand.
6 EC Talk | September 2025
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