THE TEAM USA Olympics outfits debuted at the Opening Ceremony on Friday have been blasted as “preppy” and “pretentious” by online critics – who slammed designers Ralph Lauren.
The storied American fashion house outfitting the nation’s best athletes for the postponed 2020 Olympics called the style an “all-American look” with jeans, a blue blazer, white sneakers and a subtle star-spangled handkerchief.
“SOCIETY HAS PROGRESSED PAST THE NEED FOR RALPH LAUREN DESIGNING THE USA TEAM TO LOOK LIKE IVY LEAGUE SUPERVILLAINS,” wrote @jemapelleFendi captioned above five athletes posing in white windbreakers prominently featuring a blue-stitched Ralph Lauren polo logo.
“Why do the Team USA outfits look like they’d report you to HR for cursing,” comedian Molly Mulshine wrote after the event.
Twitter was alight over the uniforms being better suited for an afternoon at the yacht club rather than the Olympics.
“The Team USA Ralph Lauren outfits look like they’re meeting at the Yacht Club for brandy after a hard day of watching their trust fund grow,” JSWilliams1962 wrote.
“ralph lauren fits make us look like we’re still under british rule smdh,” @MsBrooke_Lynne chastised, comparing the looks to pictures of past Olympics fashion and British athletes’ attire.
Twitter user @strwbrry_m1kk compared the garb to big box store Old Navy, writing: “usa olympic team is still on the bus on the way to the opening ceremony bc they had to stop by old navy to get their outfits.”
And the preppy condemnation continued with other knocks for the clothing’s whitewashed presentation.
“Why is Ralph Lauren always selected to design the Team USA Olympic Opening Ceremony uniforms,” wrote Mike Sington.
“Our American athletes are a diverse group, they’re not a bunch of preppy white people headed to Newport or the Hamptons.”
Not everyone was thumbs down on the attire.
“#TeamUSA opening ceremonies outfits are very preppy chic,” Lauren Maloney wrote. “The athletes looked great.”
Ralph Lauren’s vision for the Olympics has encountered controversy in the past.
Back in 2012, the American fashion house put together a red, white and blue ensemble for the London Olympics, according to ESPN.
But the clothing was made in China.
Politicians railed against Ralph Lauren for farming out the dressing duties instead of producing them at home.
“They should be wearing uniforms that are made in America,” then-House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said at the time.
Democratic Sen. Kristen Gillibrand of New York was so incensed that she drafted a letter and pushed for a bill making it mandatory that Olympic athletes in ceremonial uniforms be “sewn or assembled in the United States.”
“The pride of our Olympic athletics goes hand in hand with the pride of American innovation and manufacturing,” Gillibrand said at the time, the Washington Post reported.
Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid agreed.
“I am so upset. I think the Olympic committee should be ashamed of themselves. I think they should be embarrassed. I think they should take all the uniforms, put them in a big pile and burn them and start all over again.”
The Republican House Speaker John Boehner from Ohio also condemned the decision: “You’d think they’d know better.”
