Heading to Ralph Lauren's New York City headquarters to preview Team USA's Opening and Closing Ceremony uniforms for the 2024 Olympics, I expected to see a room full of red, white, and blue. It's tradition: Ralph Lauren has designed Team USA's Opening and Closing Ceremony outfits for the past eight Olympic Games, beginning with Beijing in 2008. Each time, the uniforms had plenty of stars, stripes, and Americana insignias to go around. The palette is a prerequisite for around 600 U.S. athletes to represent their country at the biggest international competition in sports, after all.
What I didn't expect in the mahogany-paneled room full of Team USA athletes and their new uniforms was a crossover with the heart of fashion's biggest trends. Returning for a ninth time, Ralph Lauren is still dressing athletes for the Olympics in their star-spangled best—but they're emphasizing the crossover between the world of sport and the world of fashion in fresh ways. And, it's all available for anyone to shop before the Olympic torch is even lit.
To open the Olympics, athletes including gymnastics phenomenon Simone Biles and swimming legend Katie Ledecky will wear refreshes of Ralph Lauren classics: a navy blazer with white and red trim, a striped Oxford button-down, and tapered jeans. As far as first impressions on the Olympic stage go, it's a neat summary of the classic codes defining American fashion (and Ralph Lauren's take on it), all that are being reinvented in a prep revival at brands both at home and abroad.
Things get more experimental with the Closing Ceremony uniforms. Ralph Lauren nodded to the motorsport frenzy ruling fashion and sport with white racing jackets fit for the pit of a Formula 1 Grand Prix. (Never mind that motorsport isn't Olympics-verified—yet.) Athletes (and by that point in the festivities, medalists) will pair these with white jeans and polo shirts made from a knitting technology that reduces fabric waste. I could as easily imagine these jackets in a Hailey Bieber or Emily Ratajkowski paparazzi shot as I could at the Olympics—they're a reflection of the sporty-chic outerwear that's all over street style.
All these pieces are online for purchase now. With an Olympics to be held in one of the world's great fashion capitals, it follows that the uniforms feel extra-wearable beyond the tentpole ceremonies. "This summer, Paris is the backdrop where fashion and sport will collide on the world’s stage with a global audience and that is an incredibly exciting proposition,” David Lauren, Chief Branding and Innovation Officer, Ralph Lauren Corporation, said in a statement. "For nearly 60 years, Ralph Lauren has been a pioneer at the intersection of style and sport—the vibrancy, passion, and self-expression in sport has been a central touch point of inspiration for our brand since the very beginning of the iconic Polo brand in 1967."
In addition to the Opening and Closing Ceremony uniforms, Ralph Lauren also brought "villagewear"—a.k.a. pieces for athletes to wear in their downtime—to its ninth Olympic collaboration. Here, the crossovers between trending style-meets-sport pieces are even more obvious. There are pleated tennis skorts and dresses for both actual tennis players and Challengers obsessives; chore jackets and satin bombers that are street style's light layers du jour; and lace-up rugby jerseys that wouldn't look out of place in Chloë Sevigny's closet. Prices range from $69.50 for a jersey tee to $398 for field jackets.
There's also a sign the Olympic designer is paying close attention to the viral chatter around its heritage pieces. Daniela Moroz, who will sail for Team USA, directed my attention at the preview to an item I thought I recognized among the uniforms on display at Ralph Lauren HQ: the American flag sweater "everyone knows" (in Moroz's words), updated with Olympic rings stitched below the flag.
For some athletes, bringing fashion into conversation with sport is about more than making a great first impression at the Opening Ceremony. Competing in a male-dominated field like sailing made Moroz hold herself back, style-wise. But, "over the years I've been more and more comfortable with expressing my feminine side a bit more. Fashion has to do with some of that," she told me, "and it's cool to now get to partner with such an iconic American brand and represent that on the world stage."
Moroz can't wait to wear her Ralph Lauren uniform in Paris, but she says the pieces will have a life in her closet before, during, and after the Games. (In fact, she was already wearing the Closing Ceremony uniform when we met.) "It's a cool combination of special to the Olympics, but they're totally timeless," she says of the designs. "Like you're going to be able to wear this forever and pass on to your kids. It feels really special."
Team USA apparel by Ralph Lauren is available to shop at RalphLauren.com.
