The authentic and timeless world of Ralph Lauren
May 2026
RL/People

THE RL Q&A: Laird Mackintosh

A Broadway actor and longtime Ralph Lauren collector with a new role: proprietor of a Polo archive par excellence in New York’s Hudson Valley.
When Laird Mackintosh got his first job as a teenager at the Polo flagship in Alberta, he probably didn’t think that he’d be surrounded by the very same clothes, though with a few more decades worth of heritage worn into them, 40 years later. As a Polo collector since those teenage days, he amassed an archive of his favorite styles over the years as a hobby, while building a career as a successful stage performer (you might have seen him on Broadway in the titular role of Phantom of the Opera). Now, that collection has evolved into Thoroughbred New York, an appointment-only vintage showroom opened last year in Kingston, New York. And Mackintosh, himself, into a living encyclopedia of Ralph Lauren history. Named for Polo’s Fall ’94 collection, “Thoroughbred,” his archive leans toward the era of his youth. Knitwear, neckties, tweeds, and much more from the ’70s to the ’90s are curated with a tasteful eye trained on decades of Ralph’s iconic advertising campaigns—all beginning with that very first job back in Canada. —Andrew Craig

What first sparked your interest in Polo, and your collection?

As a teenager growing up in Canada, my first job was working at a beautiful Polo store in my hometown of Calgary in the ’80s. Which just so happened to be an era where Ralph Lauren’s work I think is especially remarkable. I felt so lucky to be working in this beautiful store and experiencing the sense of style at the time. It was only my first job, but it’s burned into my memory—a certain time of your life when you’re growing up and things really sink into your consciousness. Once the internet came into all our lives, I took a look back at my teen years and thought, “You know, I want to try to find some of those clothes again.” Polo pieces that I loved but didn’t have anymore, or things that got away. I had been collecting a little up to that point, but once I was able to shop online for vintage pieces that had scattered all over the world, I really started in earnest. My life evolved, and my career as a stage performer grew, so it was never my primary focus. But all along the way, I was collecting Ralph Lauren pieces in the background.

It looks like your collection has grown a bit since then, to say the least. How did Thoroughbred come about?

My venture happened as it did for many people, during the pandemic. I was looking for something to do after the theater business on Broadway had been obliterated, so I started listing a few of my vintage pieces for sale on my Instagram. It all evolved from there. I created a new Instagram account, separate from my personal acting one, to sell vintage and to unabashedly gush about my love of Ralph Lauren. It was all done out of my house, but then the room kind of exploded, and I expanded to a small rental space where I could photograph things on form. But as I was doing that, I wished I could show not just a single item at a time, but everything. Because if you turned the camera around from the items I was photographing, you’d have seen rack after rack with hundreds of garment bags. Opening the shop has been a lot of fun for me, because I was able to do exactly that. While getting everything unpacked, I got to re-familiarize myself with it all and re-appreciate it all, and remember pieces I’d completely forgotten I had. Now, it’s Thoroughbred. It’s been tremendously fun for me, but also for other Ralph Lauren collectors. They’ll come up, walk in the door, and just gasp.

What’s your biggest vintage obsession?

My number one obsession has always been Ralph Lauren tweed jackets. I probably have hundreds of them. What captures the image of them best, for me, is this matchbook cover I found from the ’70s—it’s from the Beverly Hills Polo store, the very first one Ralph ever opened. On it, it says “Polo Ralph Lauren: for the country gentleman who lives in the city.” Tweed jackets are relaxed and understated, but they’re still a little civilized, urbane, cultured. It’s the kind of piece you can wear nonstop, with anything. The vintage ones can really embody the Ralph Lauren ethos, too: having an old, sturdy tweed jacket that’s been worn and patched and repaired, and somehow looks better than it did on day one. As exemplified by his own tweed jacket that he wore when he took a bow in his famous black-and-white herringbone tweed for the Fall 2016 runway show—the same jacket he’s had since the 1970s. When I was a teenager selling tweed jackets at the Polo store in the ’80s, they were new, of course, but made the idea of the heritage, with an authenticity in the construction and integrity in the design. Ralph went to the original mills in Scotland and in Ireland and got fabric that was costly, but was the very best, and the most real. So now, 40 years later, those same jackets I used to sell have become heirlooms that have lived their own lives, and that still look amazing. That’s been really cool for me to share with clients, and people really love that sense of heritage and story. Clothes like that are being passed down with more reverence now, I think. Customers are understanding that these pieces can have the same kind of mystique and desirability as, say, a luxury watch, a classic car, a vintage bottle of wine. And I imagine it must feel very satisfying, if you’re Ralph Lauren, to see that kind of modern appreciation for the designs he made all those years ago.

What do you look for, as a collector?

I’ve always loved the old printed Ralph Lauren catalogs. They made a massive impression on me growing up, and we have them around the store now. Ralph created a real sense of storytelling in the advertising, with the same cast of characters. They went on safari, they went to their English country house, they summered in Martha’s Vineyard. Finding the pieces from those images is what I really love. And when I can find one of those, the customers love it, too. People are really interested in the history of it all, if you know it and can explain it. I’m constantly whipping out all the Ralph Lauren books I have in the shop and flipping through the old images to show to customers, who all seem to be genuinely interested in the history of the clothing.

Those old ads were so cinematic, and you’re a performer by trade yourself. Do you see any connection between the two?

In my professional life as a performer, there have been a lot of costumes. But what Ralph does doesn’t feel like a costume. It’s less about performing, and more about embodying a character or a role that’s within yourself. Ralph has always said himself that he never felt like he never wanted to be just one person. He wanted to dress like a cowboy when he was at the Double RL Ranch. Like a Wall Street businessman when he took a board meeting in Manhattan. He wanted to wear a black leather jacket when he was getting into one of his vintage sports cars downtown, or a beautiful tweed sport coat when he was walking around his home in Bedford. I think his clothes give you a license to find your own sense of authenticity in the way that you dress, to have fun trying out different characters, and find what really resonates for yourself.

What is it about vintage clothes that resonates, for you?

There’s a quote in the 1984 catalog, for a Polo collection called Thoroughbred—which is where I got the name for the shop—that I think speaks to this exactly: “There is a way of living that has a certain grace and beauty. It is not a constant race for what is next, rather, an appreciation of what has come before. There is a depth and quality of experience that is lived and felt, a recognition of what is truly meaningful. These are the feelings I would like my work to inspire. This is the quality of life that I believe in.” That’s exactly to what’s important to me. A depth and quality of experience, things that are meaningful, a slower way of life, looking backwards instead of constantly peering ahead. I think that’s something people are appreciating more and more now, especially in their clothing. It’s the Ralph Lauren philosophy.

MY RAREST PIECES

1970s — Denim Jacket

The denim blazer is a great example of a rare piece I added to the archive simply because I had never seen it before, or since. It’s a beautiful jacket from 1974 or ’75 or thereabouts, and the lapels are so massive that they stretch over the shoulder seams. It’s so ’70s. And from all the deep dives I’ve done, I’ve never found a single other one—they just don’t seem to exist. And anything where I can stop and say “Wow, I’ve actually never seen that before,” is intriguing to me. So it’s kind of a one-off piece in the archive that I absolutely love.

1980s — Striped Sweater

That’s a very rare sweater in the sense that it’s my own original vintage, from when I was 15 years old. I bought it in ’86, and it’s one of those particular pieces that I’ve never wanted to give up. A lot of Ralph’s knitwear from around this time has a very Chariots of Fire feel to it, especially in these kind of stripes, kind of reminiscent of rowing blazers or cricket uniforms. I have a number of pieces in the archive that I’ve owned for 40-plus years, now, but this is the one that feels the most special.

1980s — Crest Robe

The crest on this robe has been a favorite of mine since day one. That identical crest itself is one of the first Polo pieces I ever bought. It’s the very first bullion crest that Ralph ever designed for use on a blazer, as near as I can tell, in 1980 or ’81, and I bought one at the Polo store in Calgary where I was working. You’d buy the crests, which were so beautiful and authentically made, individually and put it onto whatever you wanted, so I bought one and put it on a blazer way back when I was a teenager. Through my life it’s moved across my wardrobe, onto different sport coats and blazers, and always felt special. It was also featured in an iconic Polo ad with Buzzy Kerbox, so it’s kind of immortalized there. Over the years I’ve found a few of them, either sold individually or on blazers, and this one happened to be on this really unique navy blazer-style robe.

1970s — Western Shirt

The denim bib shirt style is something that Ralph wore himself, and made for both men and women over the years. But the “Ralph Lauren Western Wear” label makes this one a very rare piece, because the line only existed from 1978–79. The men’s version of the label, “Polo Western,” was one of Ralph’s early bids to get into denim in a big way, but because the label was very short-lived, the pieces are now very highly coveted. And, of course, because they were beautifully made. I love the look of this one—the patina, the wear, and of course the unique design of the bib.

1970s — Tweed Jacket

This is one of the most iconic tweed jackets. Maybe the most iconic. The very same one that Ralph made famous, from the 1970s in the black-and-white herringbone. This is a holy grail for Polo collectors, and they’re incredibly rare. I sold a few of them when I first opened up shop—people snatched them up right away—and I don’t think I quite realized, even then, just how rare and special they are. Now, I’m not selling them any longer. They stay in the archive.

Third-party content; all rights belong to their respective owners. Ralph Lauren claims no rights and assumes no responsibility for permission or use.
ANDREW CRAIG is the former men’s content editor for Ralph Lauren.
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