Tom Johnson was raised in upstate New York and Dallas, Texas.  After a final year of high school living in Vienna, Austria, Johnson studied at Parsons School of Design in New York City.

While attending Parsons, Johnson worked part-time for Polo Ralph Lauren.  In 1982 he was asked to join the Ralph Lauren Design Studio full-time to work on the first Ralph Lauren Home Collection line.  As Assistant Director of Home Collection Design, Johnson was involved in product design and also the design and display of the extensive Home Collection showrooms.

In 1985, Johnson helped establish the company’s Polo Store Development department, and worked on the design of the flagship Polo Ralph Lauren store on Madison Avenue, opening in 1986.

After a 15-month sabbatical traveling through the South Pacific, Asia, and Africa, Johnson returned to Polo Ralph Lauren as Director of Polo Store Development. From 1989 to 1992 free-standing Polo stores worldwide were designed and installed under his direction.