Team USA is arriving at the Olympic Opening Ceremonies in preppy style fit for the tropics.
When the Rio Olympics kick off Friday Aug. 5, athletes representing the U.S. will be decked in Ralph Lauren sportswear, from white denim jeans tapered at the ankle and patriotic T-shirts to Polo Pony-emblazoned navy blazers and red, white and blue striped boat shoes.
The breezy collection marks a change from the London Summer Games in 2012, when Ralph Lauren layered athletes in berets, ties and dress shoes.
Accented with a decorative woven wrist-strap, the look gives off “ almost a Brazil resort sensibility,” says David Lauren, executive vice president of Ralph Lauren's global advertising, marketing & corporate communications. “Something that’s relaxed and easy but also celebrates American colors, celebrates patriotism, but something that doesn’t feel too warm for the athletes.”
The goal was to make Team USA feel comfortable, he says. “A lot of people, this is their first time walking in the Olympics, walking in an opening ceremony, being on TV. It’s incredible pressure and stress for an athlete. And so when they come up to our offices and we spend time with them, we’re really trying to understand what feels cool, what feels modern, what makes them feel dressed up enough that they feel that they’re special, that they truly are an ambassador."
Fittings are happening around the clock. When athletes arrive in Houston before the Games, their most recent measurements are taken. “Even before that we’re building models and prototypes for different athletes,” says Lauren. “It’s incredibly complicated.”
Ralph Lauren's 16 tailors and two stylists have only eight hours to alter the athletes' uniforms. "Obviously we want to be cutting-edge stylistically when it comes to the Olympic Games," says Olympic wrestler Jordan Burroughs, who won gold in London and will return to the Rio Games. He calls this year's uniforms "very patriotic and representative of American culture."
Does Burroughs own boat shoes, we wondered? “I don’t own a boat!” he laughs. (Starting Friday, fans of the collection can own the uniforms, too. The Team USA ceremony t-shirt retails for $89.50; the boat shoe is $350 at ralphlauren.com/teamusa.)
The week before the Games, Burroughs is soaking in time with his wife and two young children while preparing to compete. “The expectations are high. I’m expected to win again. And I expect myself to win,” he says.
To create the uniforms, Ralph Lauren identified over 40 U.S. partners and manufacturers. “Everything is made in America,” says Lauren calling it both “exciting” and “complicated” to produce the volume of uniforms (1,100 between the Olympics and Paralympics) needed to outfit U.S. athletes and officials.
“So much of the (clothing) manufacturing has gone overseas,” says Lauren. "We’re learning, and hopefully with each Olympics we’re helping to create more jobs and helping to create more product and it might inspire any other brands to do the same.”
Sen. Chuck Schumer calls it "a match made in heaven" that the team's blazers were produced by Hickey Freeman and manufactured in Rochester, N.Y. "When it comes to dressing our Olympic Team ‘Made in America’ means ‘Made in Rochester,'" he said in a statement.
He added: "This will not only guarantee our Olympians have the best uniforms to wear, but also continues a bright future of stability and expansion for manufacturing in Rochester."
So next week, expect a sea of fashion-forward Olympians.
"I’ve seen a number of extremely popular clothing brands creating Opening Ceremony outfits for some of the other delegations – it’s almost become like a fashion show," says Burroughs. "And Ralph Lauren is one of the premiere brands worldwide. I think they put us into a place of comfort but high fashion."
