Ralph Lauren, the quintessential American designer who built a fashion empire based on sweeping fantasies of country-club prep and the Wild West, is stepping down from his post as chief executive of the company.

拉尔夫·劳伦(Ralph Lauren)即将离任公司首席执行官一职。作为一位被奉为圭臬的美国时尚大师，他利用源于乡村俱乐部和狂野西部服饰的奇思妙想，建立起了一个时装帝国。

Taking the helm at Ralph Lauren will be Stefan Larsson, a former H&M executive and president of Old Navy, Gap’s down-market brand, which Mr. Larsson is credited with reviving. Old Navy has consistently been one of the few bright spots in Gap’s brand portfolio since Mr. Larsson, who is Swedish, took over in 2012, making him one of the most visible executives in retail.

拉尔夫·劳伦公司将由H&M前高管、Gap的下线品牌Old Navy前总裁斯蒂芬·拉尔森(Stefan Larsson)掌舵。他曾因重振Old Navy品牌而获得赞誉。自来自瑞典的拉尔森2012年接手后，Old Navy一直是Gap旗下诸多品牌中为数不多的一个亮点。这使拉尔森成了零售业最引人瞩目的高管之一。

The change may be viewed as a move by Ralph Lauren to get its financial house in order. Earnings at the upscale apparel company, known for its Polo brand, have been pressured by a strong dollar and intense competition in the luxury space. Its latest quarterly earnings of $1.09 earnings a share topped analyst estimates, but revenue dipped 5.3 percent on a year-over-year basis. The company’s share price has slumped by almost half this year.

此番人事变动可能会被外界认为是拉尔夫·劳伦为整顿财务而采取的措施。在奢侈品行业，这家以其马球(Polo)品牌而闻名的高端成衣公司的利润受到了美元走强和激烈竞争的挤压。其最近一个季度每股1.09美元的收益超出了分析人士的估计，但收入同比下降5.3%。今年，该公司的股价跌了近一半。

In an interview, Mr. Lauren said that he intended to remain active at the company he founded in new roles as executive chairman and chief creative officer. Mr. Larsson will report to Mr. Lauren, though the 75-year-old American designer characterized their relationship as a “partnership.”

接受采访时，作为公司创始人的劳伦表示，他打算以董事局主席和首席创意官的新角色，继续积极参与公司事务。拉尔森将向劳伦汇报，不过这位75岁的美国设计师称两人是“合作”关系。

“When they start designing things I can’t understand, I’ll quit,” Mr. Lauren said, sitting with Mr. Larsson at his side at his offices on Madison Avenue, adorned with the rustic paraphernalia – a tin toy robot, cowboy boots – that Ralph Lauren’s stores have come to be known for.

“当他们开始设计我理解不了的东西时，我会退出，”劳伦在位于麦迪逊大街的办公室里说。拉尔森就坐在他旁边。办公室里装饰着各种乡村风格的物品——一个锡制机器人玩具，牛仔靴——一如拉尔夫·劳伦的各家门店。

“But I don’t feel like I’m stepping back now,” Mr. Lauren said.

“但我不想现在就退居幕后，”劳伦说。

Still, Mr. Larsson’s appointment is the start of a succession at one of America’s best-known fashion houses, which, together with the likes of Donna Karan and Calvin Klein, helped put American style on the map.

但拉尔森的任命依然是拉尔夫·劳伦公司交班的开始。作为美国最有名的时装公司之一，拉尔夫·劳伦与唐娜·卡兰(Donna Karan)和卡尔文·克莱因(Calvin Klein)一起，帮助把美式风格发扬光大。

And it is the coming end of a golden era of American postwar designers: Ms. Karan stepped down from the helm of the house that bears her name earlier this year; Mr. Klein stepped away from his namesake company in 2002.

眼下，美国战后设计师的黄金时代即将结束：今年早些时候，卡兰辞去了以自己名字命名的公司的掌舵人职位；2002年，克莱因离开了用自己的名字命名的公司

Mr. Larsson will take over as chief executive of the Ralph Lauren Corporation in November, and will also join the company’s board.

拉尔森将于11月接任拉尔夫·劳伦公司的首席执行官，并加入公司董事会。

“One of the biggest reasons for me to join is the opportunity to work side by side with someone like Ralph,” Mr. Larsson said.

“我加入最大的一个原因，是能获得与拉尔夫这样一个人共事的机会，”拉尔森说。

Most really successful fashion brands are stories of two partners — Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge, Calvin Klein and Barry Schwartz, Valentino and Giancarlo Giammetti, even Giorgio Armani and Sergio Galeotti (Mr. Armani took over as C.E.O. after he died).

大部分非常成功的时装品牌都是两个合伙人的故事，比如伊夫·圣洛朗(Yves Saint Laurent)和皮埃尔·布尔热(Pierre Bergé)、卡尔文·克莱因和巴里·施瓦茨(Barry Schwartz)、瓦伦蒂诺(Valentino)和杰卡罗·吉米迪(Giancarlo Giammetti)甚至还有乔治·阿玛尼(Giorgio Armani)和塞尔焦·加莱奥蒂（Sergio Galeotti，阿玛尼在加莱奥蒂过世后接任首席执行官）。

Mr. Lauren was singular in that he did both jobs on his own. Having the dual skill set needed to have a great aesthetic vision and run a great company is rare. Previously, he had a “partner” in Roger Farah, former chief operating officer and president who retired a few years ago, and who was succeeded by Jackwyn Nemerov. But Mr. Lauren’s decision to award Mr. Larsson the title of chief executive indicates that he, at least, feels it is still important to separate the roles and have a professional manager running the brand.

劳伦特别的地方在于，他一人身兼二职，同时具备优秀的审美眼光，和管理一家大公司所需的技能，这种情况颇为少见。之前，他有过一个“合伙人”，那就是几年前退休的前首席运营官兼总裁罗格·法拉赫(Roger Farah)。后来，杰克温·内梅罗夫(Jackwyn Nemerov)接替了法拉赫。但劳伦让拉尔森担任首席执行官这个决定表明，他至少觉得把两个角色分开，有一个职业经理人管理品牌依然很重要。

Mr. Lauren’s most recent show at New York Fashion week was an ode to Americans in Biarritz, with his signature perfect leather tailoring, blue and white evening gowns, and stars in the front row (Jessica Chastain, Julianne Moore). But his brand is a typical luxury pyramid structure ( the model for both Calvin Klein and Michael Kors), with luxury at the pinnacle casting an aspirational halo over the more accessible Polo Ralph Lauren line (also now shown at New York Fashion Week), and factory stores below that form the bulk of the profits.

劳伦最近在纽约时装周上的那场秀，是一首唱给比亚里茨的美国人的颂歌。秀场上能看到他那标志性的完美皮革剪裁、蓝色和白色晚礼服以及坐在前排的明星（杰西卡·查斯坦[Jessica Chastain]和朱丽安·摩尔[Julianne Moore]）。他创立的这个品牌是一种典型的奢侈品金字塔结构（卡尔文·克莱因和迈克·高仕[Michael Kors]也采用了这种模式），位于塔尖的奢侈品投下了一圈诱人的光环，在这之下的是消费者更负担得起的拉尔夫·劳伦马球男装[Polo Ralph Lauren]，而公司的大部分利润则来自位于金字塔底部的工厂店。

Given Mr. Larsson’s track record in “fast fashion,” the question is whether the company, which has invested in bolstering its luxury image, will now take a different tack. Recent moves at the company, like separating out its luxury business, hiring the luxury executive Valerie Hermann and opening a lavish private members’ club in Milan, had suggested a stronger focus on luxury at the apparel company.

考虑到拉尔森在“快时尚”领域的表现，现在的问题是，已经投资增强其奢侈品牌形象的该公司，是否会改弦更张。该公司最近的举动，如剥离奢侈品业务、雇佣奢饰品高管瓦莱丽·赫尔曼(Valerie Hermann)以及在米兰开设一家奢华的私人会员制俱乐部，一度表明这家成衣公司增强了对奢侈品的重视。

Mr. Larsson has made his name in budget-conscious mass-retailing, first at H&M and then at Old Navy. Though even at those mass brands, Mr. Larsson’s success, experts say, has been built on fostering a level of attention to design that sellers of low-end, family-oriented apparel had previously not put into their wares.

先后任职于H&M和Old Navy的拉尔森，已在预算意识强烈的大众零售业赢得了口碑。但专家表示，即便是在那些大众品牌，拉尔森成功的基础，也是前所未有地为两个品牌面向家庭的低端服饰在一定程度上注入对设计的关注。