Skate and the great outdoors merged with luxury craftsmanship in Element’s collaboration with Polo Ralph Lauren.

The 19-SKU, unisex collection draws inspiration from Ralph Lauren’s Fall 1982 women’s collection and includes caps, a T-shirt, sweatpants, a long-sleeve shirt, denim jacket, hoodie, chino pants, knitwear, and skate decks. The collection retails from $68 to $698.

“Polo Ralph Lauren have rarely collaborated with external parties. The last was with Palace in 2018,” Element Global Creative Director Rey Gautier, who is based in France, told SES by email.

The partnering marks the first time the two brands have worked together.

A focus on Ralph Lauren’s “Polo Country” collection offered the greatest alignment with the Element brand ethos, the creative director explained.

“Element was created on the East Coast…. There are parallels in its approach to Polo Ralph Lauren’s origins,” Gautier said. “There is a do-it-yourself spirit, a sense of utility, genuine purpose of product, an optimism that underpins our outlook on life. We wanted to work with a company who have carefully curated and epitomize North American style and positive values.”

The collaboration’s halo item is a knit sweater that includes embroidery of a schoolhouse and other folk art with a skater.

The collection is being sold in Ralph Lauren’s online shop and flagship locations, in addition to Element stores. Retail partners include KCDC skate shop, Black Sheep Skate Shop, Blacklist Boardshop, American Rag Cie, End Clothing, and Citadium Paris.

In June, the two companies hosted 13 skateboarders for a camp in Mt. Hood, Oregon that included skateboarding with Element pro skaters and hiking in the Mt. Hood National Forest. Workshops were also held for attendees on natural dying processes and photography, among other subjects.

Three events helped kick off the collaboration’s launch, starting with Paris where there was an Element pop-up shop, embroidery workshop, and screening of a short documentary shot during the skate camp experience, called “Polo Ralph Lauren x Element Country Skate Camp.”

Paris was followed by skate demos and sessions at Spotaka sporting goods store and skate park in Osaka and Instant Skateboard Shop in Tokyo. The launch events capped Sunday with a documentary screening in Tokyo at the Polo Ralph Lauren store on Cat Street.

More from the collaboration: 

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  Photo courtesy of Element.