Ralph Lauren Opens Its First PoloFest in Tokyo, Selling Vintage Polo From 18 Collectors

Ralph Lauren's first PoloFest opened in Tokyo this week, a three-day event running October 23 to 25 at Jing Harajuku in Shibuya. The company announced it on September 30 as the first global event in a run-up to Ralph Lauren's 60th anniversary in 2027, and the first stop in a series of PoloFest gatherings in other cities. Entry is free, with tickets handed out only through Ralph Lauren's LINE membership community.

There are three parts: an archive exhibition of rare Polo pieces, a speaker series, and a vintage market where collectors and dealers sell old Polo. The release names the vendors, among them The Polo Archive's Albie Robert, Procell, F as in Frank, Metropolis Vintage, Thoroughbred NY, Tartan Vintage, Safari, Reflex, Vault Up and Big Apple Store. Polo's own post on the market counts 18 collectors and promises thousands of pieces, from original ties and cowboy boots from the 1979 Western collection to Steiff Polo Bears, Snow Beach and CP-93.

Polo Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren is also selling its own pieces there, which the release describes as "one-of-a-kind upcycled Polo pieces transformed by a selection of celebrated local artisans skilled in the Japanese tradition of mending and reinvention." It doesn't name the artisans.

Why Tokyo

Polo first launched in Japan in 1976, and the brand's own posts lean on that: Tokyo, as they put it, is where the first PoloFest had to happen. The opening drew Tyson Beckford, André 3000, Janelle Monáe, Conan Gray, Mark Lee, Krystal Jung, Sana and Becky Armstrong, according to Polo's and Ralph Lauren's own posts, with David Lauren there for opening night.

Polo Ralph Lauren

The read

The interesting part is who gets the stage. Ralph Lauren is inviting the people who resell its old clothes, most of them independent dealers, into its own anniversary, and giving their market top billing next to its archive. Collectors have kept lines like Snow Beach and CP-93 in demand for decades on their own; PoloFest is Ralph Lauren putting its name on that culture rather than competing with it. Japan, with its deep vintage trade in American clothes, is the obvious place to test it, and the brand has already been leaning on Japanese partners this year, from the B-WING collection with BEAMS onward.

What isn't said yet is where PoloFest goes next or when. Ralph Lauren calls Tokyo the first chapter and stops there.