Cool the body, not the room. That’s the idea behind a personal air conditioning system Ralph Lauren built into the jackets to be worn by Team USA’s flag bearers during the Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo.
Olympic medalists in fencing, Peter Westbrook, left, and Daryl Homer model the Team USA Tokyo Olympic opening ceremony uniforms at the Ralph Lauren SoHo store on Wednesday, July 7, 2021, in New York.
The technology disperses heat from the wearer’s skin through a fan device at the back of the neck, with a lightweight personal battery controller stashed inside. It’s akin to how large computers are kept cool. The athletes’ striped belts are made of recycled plastic water bottles. A patch on the back of the pants is a nod to leather alternatives, this one made of plant-based materials and agricultural byproducts free of synthetic plastics.
Team USA organizers wanted the athletes to “feel red, white and blue” at the world’s coming out party, Lauren told the AP ahead of the formal unveiling. The parade uniforms were made in the United States. Ralph Lauren has been outfitting Team USA since 2008. Homer called the uniforms “very comfortable, very breathable,” though the much-discussed beret each American athlete received for the London Opening Ceremony in 2012 was one of his favorite Olympic pieces.It was at the London Games where Ralph Lauren took some heat for decking out the U.S. athletes in uniforms made in China.
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