It seems as though Ralph Lauren has a hand in just about everything in America, and now he has his hand on the top of a few select heads. Maybe not Mr. Lauren himself, but his barber of thirty years now has the famous Ralph Lauren pedigree. Clemente DiMonda, an Italian immigrant coming from a long line of tailors and barbers, set up shop in the Garment District of Manhattan in the late sixties. However he soon found himself in a new and shinny shop in the Ralph Lauren world headquarters, after an offer from Mr. Lauren himself. Ralph Lauren is among Senor DiMonda's clients, but the only one to offer him his own space to cut and shave his high-end clients (including some of Mr. Lauren's competitors). I especially appreciate the exclusivity of the shop, no sign, no intercom, and no walk-ins. A new client is only accepted by the referral of a per-existing client. No riff-raff. And if you do happen to be a client of Senor DiMonda, you definitely won't look like the riff-raff. He does not believe in hairstyles, he believes that every man should be different, to look dignified and not like anybody else, so he gives a bespoke haircut, if you will. Leave it to Ralph Lauren to class up one of the oldest institutions of being a man.
Images courtesy of Nathan Copan for Ralph Lauren Magazine
