‘Arise, Sir Ralph’: Ralph Lauren to become first US designer with British knighthood
The 79-year-old will join former US presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan, and Bill Gates and Steven Spielberg as American honorary knights
Ralph Lauren will become the first American designer to receive a British knighthood.
The 79-year-old will be awarded the Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) for his philanthropic efforts and for forging cultural connections.
The award will be presented to the designer at a ceremony next year by a representative of Queen Elizabeth.
Lauren will join the ranks of other honorary American knights, including former US presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, as well as Bill and Melinda Gates and Steven Spielberg.
Along with recognition for his philanthropic efforts, Antony Phillipson, British consul general to New York and Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for North America, said the prize would be conferred on Lauren for “[playing] a key role in forging transatlantic cultural and economic connections.
“Mr Lauren has been a vanguard for the global fashion industry and American style for nearly half a century.”
This article originally appeared on HYPEBEAST .