Get an exclusive inside look at the design and manufacturing process of Team USA's Olympic outfits. Made and manufactured entirely in America, these uniforms take over a year to develop and include over 1000 pieces for athletes to wear at the opening ceremony, closing ceremony, training, and in the Olympic Village. Discover how quintessential American brand Ralph Lauren blends elements of American culture and fashion to create styles that are not only comfortable but also fashion-forward, perfectly outfitting the US teams on the world stage.
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00:00The Olympics, a celebration of human potential and the pursuit of excellence.
00:05A global stage where dreams are realized and legends are born.
00:09But beyond the medals and the glory, there's another story.
00:12A story of style, national pride, and craftsmanship.
00:18The uniforms worn by Team USA are more than just clothing.
00:22They symbolize our collective identity and ambition.
00:25And who better to design them than Ralph Lauren?
00:28He's one of two immigrants. He started with no money.
00:31The company he's built tells the story of America through clothing.
00:34Ralph Lauren's dedication to blending style and athleticism made him the perfect choice to outfit Team USA,
00:40a prestigious role they've proudly held since the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
00:45America is one of the few teams competing not funded by a government.
00:49It's a Herculean or Olympic task to actually create the Olympic uniforms.
00:54Our entire company comes together like an Olympic team to create, design, manufacture, produce, ship,
01:00everything that goes into creating Team USA looks.
01:03We are lucky because we're making so much of it here in America.
01:07Some of the roles are sourced in Oregon and Colorado.
01:10Things are put together in North Carolina, South Carolina, Connecticut.
01:14It's an amazing opportunity to learn about American manufacturing, American know-how,
01:19and try to spark new kinds of ideas right here in America.
01:23One of the companies Ralph Lauren turns to is its long-term fabrication partner, Ferrara Manufacturing,
01:28a family-owned business in Long Island City.
01:31They've been crafting top-quality fashion items since 1987 and have collaborated with Ralph Lauren on Olympic endeavors since 2014.
01:39For the 2024 Olympics, Ferrara has produced the opening ceremony blazer and woven shirt as well as the flag bearer blazer.
01:48We've also made the closing ceremony moto jacket and the flag bearer moto jacket.
01:53If there's ever time to make products in the United States, it has to be for the Olympic uniforms.
01:57Even the wool from the blazer, that's from a sheep that was raised in Oregon.
02:02New York is a very exciting place to make things.
02:04It has the highest density of fashion designers in the United States.
02:08Ralph Lauren is actually from New York as well.
02:11He grew up in the Bronx and got started in New York, so we really feel connected to that story.
02:16This is one of the proudest programs that we work on, and it takes over a year to develop everything.
02:22to make the best possible quality that we do for every garment we produce here.
02:28Ferrara is responsible for creating pieces that will be worn by over a thousand of America's athletes at the opening and closing ceremonies.
02:35These pieces will be on display for the world to see, and the athletes need to have the confidence that they're wearing the best America has to offer.
02:43The opportunity was to outfit the teams on a global stage at the opening and closing ceremonies,
02:48which will be watched by more people than any sporting event in history.
02:52Our goal was to bring style, a sense of team spirit, clothes that felt comfortable, but also fashion forward.
02:58So right now I'm wearing the opening ceremonies uniform.
03:00We have a nice blazer, button up, some jeans and some suede bucks.
03:04I've always been a fan of white bucks, so to get suede bucks is a nice alternative to what I'm used to.
03:08This is the closing ceremony outfit. I love how it's kind of a like modern twist on like a classic racer jacket.
03:16Very lovely sports style coat that I'm wearing, biker pants down low.
03:20It's easy to say after the games, I'm going to kill every all white party.
03:24When we walk out on opening ceremonies in these looks, it really is what unites us as a team.
03:28And Team USA is one of the most dominant forces of the Olympic Games, so I'd say the apparel definitely takes part in that.
03:34Even though the outfits for the opening and closing ceremonies will be Ralph Lauren's most visible contributions,
03:40their stamp on the Olympic apparel will be felt every day of the games.
03:44We're also outfitting the athletes in what's called village gear, which is what the athletes will wear as they're training,
03:50as they're walking around, as they're getting ready to compete.
03:54Everyone knows the classic American flag Ralph Lauren sweater,
03:58and I love that they've done an Olympic twist on that in the village wear collection.
04:02There's a white sweater with the American flag and then with the Olympic rings on it,
04:06so it's a really cool Olympic twist on a classic Ralph Lauren staple.
04:11Ralph Lauren, quintessential American brand.
04:13When people think American style, it is kind of that mix between business and casual.
04:18Where else do people put blue denim with a tuxedo top, right?
04:22It's all about taking, in some ways, the best elements of American culture and fashion
04:27and bringing it into, like, this one really special dish that, like, satiates that fashion palette.
04:33For Paris, we really looked at new kinds of fabrications, new kinds of silhouettes,
04:38things that felt fun and exciting.
04:40I think what we're going to see are a lot of athletes wearing a team look,
04:44but also then doing their own twists and their own style and people across the world doing the same thing.
04:49You can obviously see pinstripe, really, really nice linen material, breathable.
04:54Paris is going to be extremely humid.
04:56One thing I do love, and I think it's lost on today's generation, is the cuff.
05:01I think it's an atrocity, probably one of the last great endemics in fashion, the death of the cuff.
05:06You put me in that, like, that NASA jacket?
05:09It's an aerodynamic design.
05:10Definitely I'm pairing it with some Ralph Lauren aviator sunglasses with, like, that dark blue.
05:15It's going to match that trim right here.
05:17Best dressed, hands down.
05:18But before the athletes can start mixing and matching their looks in Paris,
05:22someone has to make each and every one of them over in the States.
05:26Ralph Lauren envisions the Olympic uniforms as a showcase of America's exceptional tailoring skills.
05:32Manufacturers like Ferrara are ready to rise to the occasion and demonstrate their craftsmanship.
05:37We're in the warehouse right now.
05:39This is where we receive, count, and inspect all the raw materials.
05:42What I love about it is the combination of technology and craft, because that's really the future of our industry.
05:48So after we receive the raw materials, they're put into our automatic spreader,
05:53so then we can pull it down into the cutting machine.
05:56Different fabric actually requires different speed and waiting period for it to sit.
06:01A wool fabric requires a lot more breathing time and a slower spread than, say, a fusible fabric.
06:08In our shop, we have two cutting machines that are multi-ply, which means you can cut multiple layers of fabric.
06:14You spread fabric like layers of a croissant, and then it goes into the cutting machine.
06:18There's a really strong vacuum that sucks the fabric down to keep it in place so it doesn't slip around while we're cutting on the machine.
06:27Because if it slips and you have multiple ply, you're going to get pattern pieces that are totally different.
06:32And then we have a single ply cutting machine that cuts stripes and matching patterns with the vision cutting software.
06:38So this is what we use for the opening ceremony woven shirt.
06:42Right now we have a herringbone style.
06:44And what this is going to do is it's going to scan the pattern of the herringbone and pulls it up on the screen here.
06:50We actually cut each plaid and stripe one by one here on this special cutting machine so that we get an exact match.
06:58If these pieces are cut in the same layer, we want those two pieces to travel together in the production process.
07:04So in order to do that, we actually label it layer one, layer two, layer three, and then all the layer ones actually travel together.
07:12So she's labeling these 13, 14, 15, 16. She's going to take these pieces and bundle them together and separate them out into bins.
07:22Then we go into pattern sewing. So all the little parts that can be automatically sewn, pocket flaps, cuffs, all sorts of things.
07:30There's certain things that you just can't replace people. You need to have an expert sewer to sew a collar on a blazer, for example.
07:37So we love marrying modern day technology with maintaining that craft.
07:42What Eric is doing here is designing one of the 3D parts.
07:46And then we're going to print that part and then automatically sew the piece on our pattern sewers here.
07:52We actually designed 17 of these pieces to manufacture the moto jacket.
07:57The U.S. Olympic team pack fits in here and we're able to sew it directly on the garment.
08:02We take these white 3D printed pieces here, put them on this machine, and run all the different patches on this machine.
08:11So right now she's sewing a part that has a 3D printed part, a pattern piece, and also a sew file that's associated with this particular item.
08:23After sewing, it goes into trim application. So they'll apply all the buttons and the snaps to the garments.
08:29And then after trim application, it goes into pressing.
08:33What's interesting about blazers in particular is there's a lot of pressing that happens within the production process.
08:41A t-shirt, for example, doesn't need pressing throughout production. You just press it at the end.
08:46But blazers, because they have a lot of internal components and seams, actually get pressed throughout production,
08:53which makes them one of the most complicated garments to produce.
08:56Once the garments have been made, there's one final step unique to the Olympic process.
09:01Before they leave with their bags of apparel, each athlete undergoes a final fitting, where skilled tailors ensure that every piece in their wardrobe fits flawlessly.
09:10We call it team processing, but it's really just like this huge coming out moment.
09:14We all link up as a team. We go down to a processing facility and we start receiving all of the gear.
09:19Putting on the Team USA uniform always makes it feel more real.
09:22It's at the games. It's going to be the first time that we wear any of this.
09:26Over the last few days, we've dressed all the greatest athletes in the world, from LeBron James to Coco, and the list goes on.
09:33The size range for this program is pretty, pretty wide, because we have to fit so many different people.
09:38Size is a big thing. Fit is a big thing.
09:41We all have completely different dimensions based on our sports.
09:44You know, for a swimmer, shoulders, you know, or for a fencer, legs.
09:47For me, definitely, my waist, because of the amount of legwork we do, can be a challenge with jeans.
09:53Having someone to really put care into making sure everyone looks their best.
09:58I frequent the tailor, quite frankly. If it doesn't fit me, I don't wear it.
10:02So I just thought it was really special, not to be that guy, but like, to see my teammates kind of have that experience.
10:08Like, what, is this a tape measure? A bit like a parent, you know, on Christmas, watching the kids, right?
10:13Like, that's really what the enjoyment is. So pretentious, but it's the truth.
10:18When we all got to, like, try everything on for the first time and see everything, we were all, like, super excited.
10:23And it definitely makes it feel like, okay, it's happening. The Olympics are coming.
10:28Also, just an honor and a privilege to get to wear the stars and stripes and to represent your country.
10:33Honestly, it's the badge. This thing means everything to me. Being a part of Team USA, being a part of Ralph Lauren.
10:39We take our job very seriously to make our athletes feel as great as they can so they can focus on winning their games.
10:46You spend so much more than four years of your life.
10:49You're spending four years of not only your life, but your entire community's life.
10:53The weight of gold, as they describe it, it's more than just this 6'4", 180-pound frame.
10:58It's my mom, my dad, my dry cleaner, my swim coach, my girlfriend, my high school swim coach, all of these people and their experiences.
11:07You kind of have this opportunity in some ways to validate.
11:10So, relief is without a doubt the overwhelming emotion.
11:13To get to share my sport and the thing that I'm so passionate about and love so much, like, with the whole world is really exciting.
11:20When we walk out wearing this uniform, everybody's going to have that same sensation. It's real.
11:25The lights can't be any brighter, the crowd can't be any louder, and we're all going to be able to really perform and show everybody what we're about.
11:31Look good, play good. Team USA has the best athletes in the world.
11:35So, Ralph Lauren just sits on our bodies perfectly.
11:38It's the proudest feeling you can have when you watch Team USA walk in front of the entire world and they're wearing Ralph Lauren.
11:45Why do it again? That's a great question.
11:49I want to come back. Like, I enjoy the pride and the honor that comes with not only representing this entire country, but, like, the people that make up this country.
11:59That's what all of us have in common.
12:01We really, really just love representing something better than ourselves through our own hard work and efforts.
12:08We really love this.