Ralph Lauren designed Team USA’s Olympics kit: A look behind the scenes
The American outfitter brings a preppy yet rugged charm to the sporting attire.
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Louise Thomas
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The summer of sport continues to triumph with style across the globe – and Team USA’s Olympic kit leads the way as the most fashionable uniform in this year’s games.
Olympic fashion history has long been ambitious and prominent, with designers such as Giorgio Armani, Issey Miyake and Dior previously stepping forward to design the uniform of a National Olympic team.
This year, Ralph Lauren won the bid to be team USA’s official outfitter for the Paris Olympics 2024, and the designs do not disappoint.
The designer has been outfitting Team USA since 2008.
“Every opportunity we have to dress Team USA is an exciting one and of course an amazing challenge,” says David Lauren, Ralph Lauren’s chief branding and innovation officer. “How do you reinvent yourselves? How do you think about each games differently? How do you create the style that feels right and appropriate for each athlete each time we come?”
For the last summer Olympics in humid Tokyo, Ralph Lauren designed lightweight, cool garments for the US athletes using technology that directed heat away through a fan fitted in the back of the neck.
For Paris, the designer is taking cool to a whole new level. Inspired by good old American denim, the opening ceremony uniform features blue jeans, pinstripe shirts and preppy blazers in navy, red and white.
The closing ceremony uniform harks to summers in the Hamptons, with white polo shirts, white jeans and sailing-inspired jackets with the US colours emblazoned across the chest.
The closing ceremony has a more laid-back, fun and graphic feel, as opposed to the buttoned-up Oxford shirts of the opening ceremony. Throughout the collection, Ralph Lauren manages to pull on every thread of US fashion, from preppy cable-knits and field jackets to bright and bold baseball and track jackets.
For its ninth turn dressing Team USA, Ralph Lauren’s attire fits each athlete personally, aiming to identify with every American (and fashion enthusiast) watching.