So camping in the great outdoors may not be to everyone’s taste, but the great American guru of style, Ralph Lauren, offers an individual alternative to 100s of plastic palaces packed in a farmer’s field – the Airstream with the ‘Polo Look’.

Originally created in the 1930s, the aluminium caravans were a symbol of that decade’s extravagant obsession with streamlining and faux-technology. Already a styling icon, it’s no wonder Lauren (whose interest in expensive cars is well-known) chose to rescue four ‘vans from the scrapheap, restore them according to different themes, and then sell them for charity, the ‘Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation’. The result is four very differently designed campers.

The ‘Adirondack’ is a rustic treatment along the ‘mountain-house’ theme, the ‘Nautical’ would be happy at Cape Cod or Boston Harbor, the ‘Utility/Surplus’ a tribute to post WW2 make-do-and-mend, while the ‘Western’ is the ‘perfect hideout for the cowboy whose range extends far beyond the beaten path’.

These are fully-restored and styled original Airstream caravans ready for any adventure. Two versions are still available (the ‘Western’ and ‘Nautical’), for $100,000 each. So you can make a useful contribution to charity – as well as raising the standards of your local trailer park.

Text: Classic Driver
Photos: Polo