The Story Of Ralph Lauren

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By Newsweek Editors

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It all began with a tie. At least that's what Ralph Lauren would like you to believe, says author Michael Gross in "Genuine Authentic" (HarperCollins), his gossipy, unauthorized biography of the designer. Gross believes otherwise: that Lauren didn't launch his Polo fashion empire as a tie designer in the 1960s, but long before that, as a Jewish kid in the Bronx who was willing to do anything it took to be a rich WASP. After all, Gross writes, as a teen he shed his family name, Lifshitz, for the more suave-sounding Lauren, dressed in Brooks Brothers blazers, dated willowy Gentile blondes, idolized Cary Grant and in his high-school yearbook declared he wanted to be a "millionaire." Retailing was the means, writes Gross, and ties were an entree.

Originally, Lauren asked Gross to pen an authorized biography. But when Gross--a magazine writer known for his thorough if salacious reporting on fashion personalities--insisted on including Lauren's only publicly known marital infidelity (with model Kim Nye), Lauren balked and disassociated himself from the project. Gross went ahead on his own, and contacted more than 850 sources. He digs deep, tracing the Lifshitz family back four generations to a town in Belarus. But he writes shallow, making much ado about Lauren's vintage-car collection, assorted alleged affairs and egocentric demands. Gross claims that he wanted to prove that Lauren was "authentic." He may well be, but the tabloid content and snide tone of this volume show that his biographer is anything but.

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