In fashion, there are waves of fandom. There’s the latest head-scratching collaboration drop that sparks lines down the street, or a new era of a fashion house under refreshed creative direction that sends well-heeled shoppers clamoring for their credit cards. But what unfolded in Tokyo at the inaugural Polofest surpassed mere fandom, stretching into the realm of infatuation, obsession, or perhaps even a touch of cultish devotion. In a Herculean (read: quite costly) effort, a once-nondescript conference center in Tokyo’s Shibuya district was transformed into a world of Ralph Lauren that felt more like a permanent fixture than a fleeting four-day pop-up. “I came to Tokyo about 20 years ago with my father when we were just opening our store in Omotesando,” David Lauren, chief branding and innovation officer and Ralph Lauren‘s eldest son (pictured above with model Tyson Beckford and singer Janelle Monae), told Robb Report. “There were a..
