The world's favouite bear: A deep dive into the Polo Ralph Lauren Bear and how he can help heal your inner child

An endearing chap in tailored clothing as good as that in any Ralph Lauren boutique, he injects whimsy and joy into the legacy brand. He’s there on your jumper skiing down slopes with such elegance as would rival even James Bond, and he’s on your tote bag sipping martinis (on second thoughts…maybe he is Bond?). He spends holidays surfing and golfing, and his 9-5 consists of business meetings in his signature jacket and necktie combination.

He is the Polo Ralph Lauren Bear, and he’s captured not only the hearts of fans globally but, more importantly, resonates with our deepest desires.

It would be shallow to assume that what the bear symbolises is superficial in this way because he isn’t merely a symbol of beautifully made clothing and high-powered hobbies. Rather, he is genuinely and authentically himself, albeit a very tailored version of it. He’s the embodiment of the American Dream but, more than that, he can do anything (and look uber chic while doing so), earning him a likeness to Barbie in that way. Isn’t being true to ourselves  what we all deeply desire in the end?

Fondness to the bear, though, comes from authenticity and it isn’t just personality that exudes that, though the bear has more spirit in his two-dimensional expressions than some of the people we come across! It would be remiss of us to ignore the impact that fashion has on creating the bear as part of the Ralph Lauren reality.

The bear has retained his signature look throughout the decades, and there’s an authenticity to him that threads through even the story of its inception - the bears were a gift in the 1990s to Ralph Lauren and his brother, Jerry, dressed in quintessential Ralph Lauren looks. We believe in the bear because we know the aesthetic and quality of the brand and so identify the bears as being absolutely authentically Polo Ralph Lauren given its aesthetic is the exact mirror of the brand’s own.

Lauren himself famously said, “I am anti-fashion. I am interested in longevity, timelessness, style.” With the Polo Bear, the brand has retained its heritage aesthetic in part through embodying brand in the bear’s identity, and embracing our endearment by allowing us to own pieces of the bear through clothing, bucket hats, even dinner plates with his likeness. We grow increasingly fond of the bear and, in turn, the brand itself.

The bear endears us to Ralph Lauren more than their signature polo symbol does, though we can immediately identify a piece of Ralph Lauren clothing regardless of which symbol is put in front of us. What, then, do more playful elements like the Polo Bear bring to heritage brands over their stoic legacy symbols? 

We believe in the Bear at a base level because aesthetically we know he is so quintessentially Ralph Lauren, and further because he presents an anthropomorphised version of our dreams in a sweet enough package to make those dreams feel attainable while still elevated.

Ultimately, he is a symbol of our aspirations and dreams bundled together with such fluffiness as would heal our inner child. He’s consistent and portrays heritage values without losing opportunity to grow and be who he wants to be, and is the sweetness we need when the world feels gloomy. And all that, I think, is the ultimate pull and why the Polo Bear draws such fanfare and adoration and why he is our favourite little bear.