The 2018 Winter Olympics are bringing more than just sport to the eyes of world-wide viewers. With many firsts occurring, such as Chloe Kim being the youngest woman to win a gold medal at 17 and Adam Rippon and Eric Radford’s open discourse about their sexualities, there is no doubt that the 2018 Winter Olympics will be one to go down in history. And luckily, fresh designs from Ralph Lauren will be eternalized with the photos and history of the games as well.
Ralph Lauren designed the gear for the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games, which occurred on February 9th. The USA Olympic team was adorned in patriotic colors, as usual, reflecting the clean and American designs of Ralph Lauren that have permeated the Olympic fashion scene for years. According to the International Business Times, Ralph Lauren has designed the USA’s Olympic gear since 2008–meaning one could definitely dub Lauren the current official designer for the Olympic team.
But why Ralph Lauren? Ralph Lifshitz was born in the Bronx in 1939, with a passion for sport and clothes. According to the Biography Reference Bank and the H.W. Wilson Company, Lifshitz, who later changed his last name to Lauren, is truly American made. He brought himself up from a middle-class life in the Bronx, buying clothes with the small salary he earned working odd jobs until he began to design in the 1960’s. Lauren’s iconographic look is described by the database as “clean-lined, adaptable, imaginative, and, at the same time, classic and contemporary,” reflecting similarly to the American Dream.
Lauren’s iconic sporty look has stood the test of time and could even be described as a symbol of modern Americana. This Winter Olympics, Chloe Kim and Adam Rippon, two history-making American Olympians, will be immortalized in Lauren’s designs. Chloe Kim will show young women everywhere their own capabilities, and Adam Rippon will represent to LGBT+ people their capabilities as well. Their historical moments occur as they wear the truly American Ralph Lauren designs, demonstrating a newly represented American and perhaps a new definition of Patriotism—proving that fashion is far more than just the shirt on your back.
Check out all of Lauren’s Olympic designs here.
Sources: Biography Reference Bank, CNN, New York Post
