Polo Ralph Lauren has appointed the first Black creative director in the brand’s 57-year history. James M. Jeter was promoted to the title of Creative Director, Design & Brand Direction for Men’s Polo at Ralph Lauren in August.
“It’s always a special feeling when goals and aspirations manifest into reality, a feeling that words can’t always capture. I still remember my first day starting at the Rugby store in Georgetown when I was 16 years old,” Jeter said in a news release.
Jeter graduated from Morehouse College in 2013. He launched his career at Ralph Lauren as an intern and then became a design associate. During the summer of 2020, as the country experienced some of the largest protests in support of George Floyd, Ralph Lauren himself spoke to Jeter. He asked how he felt about his place at the company. Jeter answered honestly, saying that he thought it was “going to remain all-white.”
As a result of this conversation, Jeter was promoted as the lead designer on the Morehouse and Spelman Colleges Collection by Polo Ralph Lauren. Launched in March 2022, the capsule thrust HBCUs into the spotlight. Pieces were inspired by the school’s archives and were an “ode to the 1920s to 1950s collegiate style,” according to Essence Girls United.
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“It was really important to steep this in history to show that this is not new,” Jeter told WWD at the time. “A lot of this project was really about changing ownership around how we think about clothing. So who owns three-piece suits? Who owns cable cardigans? Who owns the circle skirt, for instance? And while it’s typically and historically been relegated to Ivy League schools, if you see a lot of these archival images from [Morehouse and] Spelman, that has really helped to inform a lot of the way that we approached not only the design but the way that we approached the campaigns as well.”
In his new role, Jeter hopes to show his peers that accomplishing one’s dreams is possible.
“To those of you beginning your careers with big dreams, just know that if I could do it, you can too,” he said in the press release. “This milestone is the result of the mentorship, sponsorship, and encouragement of many incredible people to whom I am forever indebted.”
