POLO RALPH LAUREN & ELEMENT

POLO RALPH LAUREN & ELEMENT POLO RALPH LAUREN AND ELEMENT SKATEBOARDS PARTNER ON A COLLECTION BASED ON COMMUNITY, NATURE, SKATEBOARDING AND TIMELESS STYLE

Polo Ralph Lauren and Element Skateboards are proud to announce our special partnership on a vintage inspired capsule collection that celebrates the spirit of skateboarding, the great outdoors, and our communities. The collaboration takes its design inspiration from Ralph Lauren’s iconic Fall 1982 womenswear collection which continued his exploration of the American prairie look. Particularly of interest were the hand knit sweaters featuring samplers and schoolhouses, one of which was reimagined for this collection. 

The design of the sweaters reflect beauty, stillness, nostalgia and an authentic connection to our land and nature. Rich with Earth tones and utilitarian design details, the collection infuses iconic Ralph Lauren silhouettes with Element’s unique position at the intersection of skateboarding and the outdoors. The product range includes a denim jacket, plaid shirt, chino pants, polo shirt, fleece sweatshirts and pants, printed tees, caps and hardgoods, including wheels and five different skate decks made from 100% North American maple hardwood and are built using Element’s seven ply construction. Central to the collection is the reimagined sampler sweater featuring a schoolhouse motif paired with the silhouette of a skater in the foreground. The intricate embroidery paired with skate culture iconography, including a half pipe next to the schoolhouse, celebrates the heritage spirit of both brands. 

Traditional folk art and vintage influences from the 1982 collection further inform the capsule’s sensibility. The products in this collection were made utilizing improved practices in raw material production and wash. The knits are made with organic cotton and vegetable dyes, and the denim featured throughout the collection is constructed from recycled cotton. Connecting back to the soul of skateboarding is a series of five unique graphics used across skate decks and apparel that include a customized version of Element’s iconic Section board graphic from the 1990s and the original folk-art graphic of the schoolhouse.

To celebrate the partnership and to give back to the skate community, both brands hosted a skate camp in Mt. Hood, Oregon for five days in early June. Thirteen young skaters from around the world were selected by their local skate shops to attend the camp and were joined by Element pro skaters for a special week of skating and hiking Mt. Hood National Forest. The world class concrete skate park at Seek Skate Camp acted as their home base. A short documentary film about the camp will be released alongside the launch of the collection. The campaign was also shot on location and features pro-skaters from the Element team, Donny Barley, Gabriel Fortunato, Jaako Ojanen, Vitória Mendonça, Rafaela Costa, Kukka Suvioja and Brandon Westgate. The result of this special partnership is a campaign and capsule collection that engages and connects the next generation to the outdoors and nature through skateboarding. The collection will be available for purchase on October 5th, 2023 both online and at Ralph Lauren flagship stores, select Element retail locations and skate shops.