Public School celebrates the legacy of Polo Ralph Lauren with a new exhibit dubbed: LO AND BEHOLD: A Case Study in Cultural Re-Appropriation.
PSNY designers Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne curated the show alongside vintage collector/designer Ezra Wine. The exhibit will focus on Polo and street culture’s symbiotic relationship, specifically highlighting the era of Brooklyn’s Lo-Life collective. According to PSNY, the event will showcase Polo pieces from the late 1980s and early 1990s era, when inner-city youth began rocking the brand and making it their own through an act of subversion.
Per the brand's press release:
Polo, tennis, golf, skiing and other predominantly White Anglo-Saxon hobbies of sport and leisure were the furthest thing from the inner-city neighborhoods of Brownsville and Crown Heights […] The clothing’s original intent didn’t matter; it was the Lo-Life's co-opting of the dominant culture that subverted the dynamic of cultural appropriation. By seizing patronage of a brand that was implicitly not intended for them, this Brooklyn crew not only reversed the traditional balance of power between the majority and minority but also showcased the influence that individuals and communities can have over brands.
The LO & BEHOLD exhibit will launch Wednesday and run through Nov. 1 at 3 Howard St. in NYC. The show will present more than 100 Polo pieces displayed across three “teenage bedrooms” inspired by the 1990s.
PSNY has also assembled a 42-song playlist to accompany the exhibit. You can check that out here.
