A legion of RL obsessives descended on the Japanese capital for the four-day celebration, where fans (including André 3000, Tyson Beckford, and more) flexed their holiest Pony grails.
On Thursday, the curtain raised on Ralph Lauren’s first-ever PoloFest: a four-day extravaganza of all things RL staged inside a sprawling event hall in the bustling heart of Tokyo. In addition to an immersive exhibition that celebrates the designer’s 50 years of history in Japan, as well as a speaker series featuring panels with longtime Polo luminaries like supermodel Tyson Beckford and Lo Life originator Thirstin Howl the 3rd, the event’s crown jewel is an enormous vintage marketplace gathering thousands of rare Ralph artifacts sourced by 18 top-tier collectors from around the globe. The lavishly appointed space feels like a Pony’d-out fever dream—everywhere you turn is another drool-inducing grail you recognize from an iconic music video, a seminal magazine ad, or just your dad’s ’90s-era wardrobe. The OG Snow Beach jacket! A deadstock 1970s Harris tweed Polo Coat! Polo Bears out the wazoo! Endless racks of cultish Polo Country gear! Few other brands on the planet have the range and legacy necessary to fill a hall of such Comic-Con-esque proportions.
Of course, the real PoloFest is the friends we made along the way—i.e. the throngs of Ralph obsessives who trekked to Japan to roll through the grounds, fiendishly shop the elite wares, and show off the illest pieces from their personal collections. We tapped photographer Ryutaro Tsukata to document the finest fits we saw at both the celebrity-packed opening night party on Thursday, where stars like André 3000 and Conan Gray rubbed shoulders with menswear luminaries like Hirofumi Kurino and Jason Jules, as well as during the fest’s first official day open to the public on Friday. Running the gamut from tweedy Purple Label tailoring to logo-maxed Polo Sport flexes, Lauren’s legion of fans came every bit as correct as you’d expect.
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Yang-Yi Goh is GQ’s Senior Style Editor. Since joining the magazine in 2019, he has interviewed pro athletes, profiled movie stars, received hate mail for his opinions on sneakers, and written approximately fifty gazillion lists of the best suits, shirts, socks, pants, jewelry, sunglasses, hoodies…you get the idea. Prior to ... Read More