Ralph Lauren has launched Ralph Lauren x Gee’s Bend, the latest collaboration of the company’s Artist in Residence program with Gee’s Bend textile artists Claudia Pettway Charley and Loretta Pettway Bennett.
Gee’s Bend, Ala., is home to a community of Black artists where quilting has been shaped by generations of creativity and resilience. Globally recognized as an American high art form, Gee’s Bend quilts are known for their visual language and vibrant, modern approach to color and abstraction.
The Artist in Residence program honors the legacy of the Gee’s Bend community with a limited-edition collection of apparel and home pieces that utilize their artisanal skills. There are 10 pieces in total, ranging from $225 for a mug set to $4,998 for a jacket made up of hand-stitched pieces to represent the original artwork designed by Pettway Charley and Pettway Bennett.
A handbag from the Ralph Lauren x Gee’s Bend campaign.
Courtesy of Ralph Lauren
Halide Alagöz, chief product and merchandising officer at Ralph Lauren, said, “Heritage and tradition have long been a central source of inspiration for Ralph and our design teams. When we work collaboratively with artisans through pathways like our Artist in Residence program, it ensures that the stories we tell through our product and campaigns are authentic and a true celebration of time-honored artistry. Our model is built to be mutually beneficial, crediting artists and elevating them through the reach of our global brand; ensuring deep collaboration in the concept, design and storytelling of each collection, and providing compensation to artists and community organizations in recognition of the shared ownership of traditional craft.”
Lauren began the Artist in Residence program in 2022, which invites artisans practicing traditional crafts to participate in a collaboration with the company’s creative teams. Each collaboration also supports an organization serving members of the Artist in Residence community.
While practiced globally, the art of quilting has been elevated in the American tradition from a domestic craft into an art form, with communities like Gee’s Bend contributing their own techniques and storytelling traditions. A time-honored practice spanning over a century, the women of Gee’s Bend practice quiltmaking using found materials to create functional works of art. This collaboration highlights designs by fourth-generation textile artist Pettway Charley, known for her intuitive, improvisational approach, and fifth-generation textile artist Pettway Bennett, acclaimed for her striking, graphic quilts as expressions of family and tradition. They are not related.
A campaign shot of housewares from the Ralph Lauren x Gee’s Bend collaboration.
Courtesy of Ralph Lauren
The Artist in Residence program is part of Ralph Lauren’s broader efforts, known as Design With Intent, to expand its portrayal of America and to evolve from inspiration to collaboration with communities that have historically inspired the company’s designs. Gee’s Bend marks Ralph Lauren’s fifth Artist in Residence collaboration, following the program’s debut with Naomi Glasses (Diné/Navajo) in 2023, work with artists including Zefren-M (Diné/Navajo), Jocy and Trae Little Sky (Oceti Sakown) of TÓPA and a second collaboration with Glasses and her brother, Tyler.
A look at the quilting process.
Courtesy image
The Ralph Lauren x Gee’s Bend collection captures the improvisational spirit of the community’s style, including freeform lines, visible topstitching and repurposing worn materials into geometric works. Personal storytelling is woven throughout each piece, from Pettway Bennett’s recurring motif of red triangles, representing her sons, to Pettway Charley’s use of color and composition.
One of the quilts in the Ralph x Gee’s Bend campaign.
Courtesy of Ralph Lauren
Inspired by the tradition of using repurposed fabrics in quiltmaking, quilts and apparel from the Ralph Lauren x Gee’s Bend collection are made from upcycled Ralph Lauren fabrics and hand-pieced together. Denim anchors the collaboration, merging Ralph Lauren’s brand codes with the Gee’s Bend quilting tradition of using workwear fabrics. The collection also includes hand-painted tableware, produced in Italy with Ralph Lauren Home’s artisan partners, designed with asymmetry and a soft glaze to mirror the handcrafted quality of Gee’s Bend.
A jacket in the Ralph Lauren x Gee’s Bend collaboration campaign.
Courtesy of Ralph Lauren
Five percent of the purchase price of each item of the Ralph Lauren x Gee’s Bend collection will be donated to the Equal Justice Initiative, an organization based in Montgomery, Ala., dedicated to advancing social justice and fostering a more equitable future. Proceeds will support EJI’s relief programming, providing direct assistance to low-income families across Alabama.
A pillow in the Ralph Lauren x Gee’s Bend collection.
Courtesy of Ralph Lauren
The Ralph Lauren x Gee’s Bend collection will be available to consumers in North America on Tuesday on ralphlauren.com, in the Ralph Lauren app and at select Ralph Lauren stores; and globally on Thursday on ralphlauren.com and at select Ralph Lauren stores.
