The authentic and timeless world of Ralph Lauren
November 2025
RL/Culture

A Look Back: 25 Years of Pink Pony

It started with Ralph’s own health scare—and led to iconic runway shows, groundbreaking new care centers, and a collaborative global initiative supporting cancer care around the world.
By Andrew Craig
In the spring of 1987, Ralph Lauren had reached a new high point of success. His now 20-year-old brand had evolved from a few neckties and a dream into a mainstay of American style. He had just been spotlighted on the cover of Time magazine and shown a collection down the runway that won critical rave. “Rather than fostering an illusion,” a reader wrote into The New York Times that same year, “Ralph Lauren is the one American designer who understands women and whose clothes fit our lifestyle.” Trouble was, he couldn’t fully enjoy it, because he was in the midst of a health scare. That April, at 47 years old, he had undergone brain surgery to remove a tumor. As he would later recount on the Charlie Rose Show, “At the same time as I was on the cover of Time magazine, I knew I was going in for a brain tumor operation. I couldn’t enjoy Time magazine. And the two distances of life, the fact that on one hand I hit the heights … the impossible thing happened with the brain tumor. … I was split right in half.” The operation proved a success. But the experience shaped him, and Ralph began devoting his time and resources to health care and cancer initiatives. Two years later, when his close friend Nina Hyde, then the fashion editor of The Washington Post, was diagnosed with breast cancer, Ralph wasted no time—he and Katharine Graham rallied the fashion industry to set up the Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research at Georgetown Lombardi. Hyde’s death in 1990 only served to spur him on. Ralph spent the following decade shaping and sharing in philanthropic efforts aimed at breast cancer, which culminated in 2000 with the launch of the Pink Pony Campaign, a global initiative in the fight against cancer.
Ralph used Polo’s biggest stage—the runway—to get the word out. Just after Gisele Bündchen showed the final look of the Spring 2001 Collection, nine models in black skinny tees with a bright pink Polo Pony front and center kicked off the finale. With a portion of the sale of each tee being contributed to the Pink Pony Campaign’s initiatives, the Pink Pony tee sold out in some Polo flagship stores in less than an hour, an auspicious start to the quarter-century of Pink Pony fundraising that was to follow. In the years since, Pink Pony has become one of Ralph’s most meaningful and most personal projects—and this year, it celebrates its 25th anniversary. What was originally born from the simple wish to help a friend has now grown into a worldwide initiative for cancer research, screenings, early diagnosis, treatment, education, and patient navigation. “It used to be that breast cancer was a whisper,” Ralph has said. “Women didn’t even talk about it. Today, it’s not that way—and I think that’s progress.”

“When someone you love has cancer, we are all affected—husbands, wives, mothers and fathers, sisters, brothers, and friends. This is our effort in the fight against cancer.”

Ralph Lauren Signature

1974
The First Step
Ralph Lauren shows his Fall 1974 Collection as part of a benefit to raise funds for a children’s cancer center in Los Angeles—the first step in what would become one of the company’s biggest philanthropic commitments.
1987
Ralph’s Call to Arms
Fresh off the cover of Time magazine, Ralph undergoes surgery to remove a benign brain tumor, an emotional experience that would help shape his support of global cancer initiatives in the following decades.
1989
The Nina Hyde Center Opens Its Doors
Inspired to act by the breast cancer diagnosis of a close friend, Washington PostM fashion editor Nina Hyde, Ralph and Katharine Graham open the Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research at the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.
1994
Designers Against Cancer
Ralph Lauren spearheads the Fashion Targets Breast Cancer initiative with the Council of Fashion Designers of America.
1996
Kindred Spirits
Princess Diana, herself a devoted philanthropist and passionate advocate of cancer research, awards Ralph Lauren the Nina Hyde Humanitarian Award as part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
2000
The Debut of Pink Pony
Pink Pony officially launches, dramatically marked by the runway appearance of the Pink Pony tee—which swiftly sells out, raising funds from a portion of each sale for cancer awareness and research initiatives.
2001
Ralph Goes to Harlem
At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Ralph meets Dr. Harold Freeman. “I was immediately humbled by his eloquence, compassion, and dedication to providing access and opportunity for health care to those in need,” Ralph says, and that “he told me that lack of education and access are the first barriers to preventing or curing cancer at an early stage.” As a result, Ralph pledges a grant to help establish a new cancer care center in Harlem, and work on the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care begins.
2003
The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care
The center opens its doors to help serve some of New York’s most vulnerable citizens struggling with cancer. Its location in Harlem aims to address some of the great disparity in cancer rates and cancer care in medically underserved communities.
2005
Diary of a Collection
Ralph Lauren releases his book, Diary of a Collection, highlighting the creative process behind his Fall 2005 Collection, with proceeds from the 3,000 numbered editions going toward the Pink Pony Fund.
2006
Pink Pony on the Green
Polo sponsors LPGA golfer Morgan Pressel, the company’s first female athlete sponsorship, and creates a limited-edition Pink Pony Polo shirt to benefit the Boca Raton Community Hospital, where Pressel’s mother was treated for breast cancer.
2014
Across the Pond With The Royal Marsden
Pink Pony hops across the pond for a partnership with The Royal Marsden in London, Europe’s largest and most comprehensive cancer center, to begin developing The Ralph Lauren Centre for Breast Cancer Research, backed by a generous donation from Ralph Lauren himself. In recognition of Ralph’s contribution and in support of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, the President of The Royal Marsden—one Prince William—hosts a gala dinner at Windsor Castle, where Ralph and some of the world’s biggest stars and philanthropists celebrate the hospital’s ongoing efforts against cancer.
2016
The Ralph Lauren Centre for Breast Cancer Research
The Ralph Lauren Centre for Breast Cancer Research proudly opens its doors in The Royal Marsden’s Chelsea location in 2016. The center was a proud continuation of a long-standing partnership between Ralph Lauren and The Royal Marsden, one of the beneficiaries of the Pink Pony Campaign for several years prior. The Centre occupies an entire floor in The Royal Marsden, which was founded in 1851 as the world’s first hospital dedicated to cancer treatment and research. The hospital has a special connection to Ralph through his friendship with Princess Diana, its former president.
2017
Pink Pony at the US Open
Pink Pony heads to Flushing Meadows. A special limited-edition “LOVE” graphic, in support of the Pink Pony Fund, is one of the options for customized Polo shirts at the “Create Your Own” experience at the US Open Tennis Championships.
2019
Together in Pink
With the aim of encouraging authentic conversations around cancer, Polo’s global marketing campaign “Together in Pink” highlighted a diverse cast of those whose lives had been affected by the disease—including Grammy winner Sheryl Crow, Emmy-winning writer and speaker Suleika Jaouad, and five-time Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian—with cast members discussing their journey alongside friends, family, and fellow survivors.
2020
Pink Pony Supports COVID-19 Efforts
As part of a multifaceted philanthropic approach on behalf of The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic—including a $10 million donation to several relief and response efforts—Ralph Lauren commits 1.5 million units of product to long-standing global Pink Pony partners focused on cancer care.
2020
Pink Pony Celebrates 20 Years
Ralph’s pet project–turned–global-initiative enters its second decade. In celebration of the milestone, the 20th anniversary campaign is titled “More Conversations, More Love” and features a global cast of cancer survivors and supporters, alongside a “Love Language” tee—a navy Polo T-shirt emblazoned with the word “Love,” available in 20 different languages.
2025
25 Years Later
Now entering a quarter century of progress, Ralph Lauren’s dream for the Pink Pony Campaign has only grown bigger and brighter, as a global initiative spanning cancer care, awareness, and fundraising helps push forward Ralph’s philanthropic vision. To celebrate the anniversary—not just for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, but all year long—Pink Pony will be featured at Ralph Lauren’s iconic sports partnerships like Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open, and at Ralph’s Coffee shops around the world. In New York, Beverly Hills, and Chicago, store facades will be lit up in pink. And of course, a new collection of limited-edition Pink Pony clothes and accessories will benefit the Pink Pony Fund to help continue Ralph’s vision well into the next 25 years.
ANDREW CRAIG is the former men’s content editor for Ralph Lauren.
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