The U.S. team uniforms for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris were unveiled on Tuesday, and they were once again designed by famed American fashion designer Ralph Lauren.
The opening ceremony uniforms aim to project a casual vibe with jeans, a navy and white striped Oxford button-down shirt, optional tie and a navy three-button blazer, reflecting Lauren’s “classic” American design aesthetic but not the notion of summer.
The blazer also features Lauren’s polo logo, although polo hasn’t been featured in the Olympics since 1936.
The Closing Ceremony uniforms are decidedly more casual: Lauren has used white denim throughout, and the jacket is modeled after a classic racing jacket, even though auto racing has never been contested at the Olympics.
Lauren has been designing the US team uniforms since 2008, and from that point on, Olympic fashion has become less like, “I’m playing sports in the summer” and more like, “Hello, welcome to the Ralph Lauren factory store. Would you like to try this cologne?”
Here’s what the uniforms looked like during the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics. They featured shorts, joggers, a t-shirt, a hat, and a short-sleeved button-up jacket, which looked like something you’d actually wear in the summer.
Here they are in 2008, Lauren’s first year as Team USA’s designer: white slacks, white hats, white button-down Oxford shirts, Polo’s signature navy blue blazers, Ascot.
There’s nothing more summery than strolling down the promenade in an ascot and blazer, right?
The next Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles in 2028, which will mark Lauren’s 20th year as an Olympic designer. Perhaps by then, she’ll be inspired to design Olympic outfits without ascots, ties, or blazers.
