Polo Ralph Lauren is pretty much the iconic American brand. Back in the day, the Polo Bear (along with the P-Wing and Indian Head logos) became instantly recognizable symbols, leading to the rise of the so-called "Lo Head." Over the years, some brave brands have tried their best to pull off Polo's timeless style, to no avail. Now we're not necessarily calling them imitators, but if it looks like a duck and quacks like one, then you might have a mallard on your hands, you dig? The latest to go to the Polo well is Nitraid with their "Raid Bear," but they're not the first—keep reading to see a recent history of brands who were clearly inspired by Ralph...
NITRAID
• "The Raid Bear" was a T-Shirt graphic previously used by NITRAID which has now returned for their Fall/Winter 2009 collection. A little like going back to the well twice, but whatever, it seems to work for 'em.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACAPULCO GOLD
• Three years ago, Acapulco Gold came out with a thuggish version of the Polo Sports bear, toting a bat and an ice grill.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPPER PLAYGROUND
• Upper Playground came out with a Ralph Lauren rip-off hoodie which features the man on the horse holding a Molotov cocktail. Die Yuppie scum...you know, so we can pick up all your Polo gear at the estate sale.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DIAMOND SUPPLY CO.
• For their Fall '09 Cut & Sew releases, Diamond Supply Co. bluntly came out with their "Un-Polo" cardigans.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DQM.
• For their Spring/Summer '06 collection, DQM came out with this memorable "Pollo" T-shirt, proving once again that they're not chicken about taking inspiration from the big boys.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RELATED: Complex's Top 100 Brands Of The 2000s (Ralph Lauren @ # 34!)
