n a downtown Brooklyn street in 1994, Raekwon from the Wu-Tang Clan rocked up to the set of the video shoot for the group’s single wearing a unique and distinctive yellow-and-blue windbreaker emblazoned with the hotpink words ‘Snow Beach’, and one of the most seminal moments in hip-hop style was born. The jacket had been created in 1993 by America’s poet laureate of style, Ralph Lauren, as the central piece of his new vision for urban sportswear inspired by the loose-fitting windbreakers worn by snowboarders. The collection was a riotous explosion of primary colours that brought to mind the colour field work of artists Barnett Newman and Frank Stella, and it was a revelation. For the first time athletic wear had descended from the slopes to take centre stage on the streets of’s Editor-in-Chief, Tom Chamberlin, says: “Snow Beach brought a new generation and demographic to Ralph Lauren with its freshness and youthful energy. It was a wonderful example of how Lauren constantly invented all-new modes of dress. Without Snow Beach we would not have the popularisation of athletic wear and streetwear or their dominance of runway styles today.”
