Under Armour debuts new U.S. speed skating uniforms since 2014 Olympic suit controversy
The 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, is only one month away. Excitement and anticipation is brewing, and not just for the forthcoming competitions, but the stylish gear, too.
Under Armour is back after its controversial speed skating suits during the 2014 Sochi Olympics had to be dropped, due to claims they slowed athletes down and affected their performance. Now, the brand is outfitting the U.S. speed skaters after having worked directly with the U.S. Speed Skating Federation over the past four years. The new uniforms feature an asymmetrical cut that allows for more flexible movement. Each suit was also customized to each athlete for a “second-skin” fit. The brand also has a patent-pending 3D aeroprint design and a new aerodynamic fabric called H1. The two elements together are designed to help reduce drag and improve aerodynamics for the athlete.
Ralph Lauren is the designer behind both the U.S. Olympic opening and closing ceremony uniforms and they are exactly what we’d expect: all-American. The fashion brand just unveiled its “Wild West” inspired Opening Ceremony uniforms featuring a thermal heated jacket, après-ski style sweater, “USA” branded knit beanie, denim jeans, and fringed gloves.
The closing version similarly embraces the country’s colors, threading red, white, and blue throughout the look, from the intarsia wool hats, bandana neck scarves, color block sweaters, and puffer down coats all the way to the red stripes on the navy track pants and red laces on the brown suede boots.
Nike unveiled their U.S. Olympic team uniforms earlier this month. The outfits were designed for athletes to wear on the podium during medal ceremonies. Given that the majority of the ceremonies (aside from hockey) will be held in open-air arenas where temperatures are bound to be frigid, Nike focused on form and function when designing the uniforms, without sacrificing style. The uniform is patriotic, featuring an icy red, white, and blue color palette. It includes an insulated white Gore-Tex zip jacket with removable navy bomber jacket, weather-protective pants, lace-free boots, and insulated gloves.
But the key item to highlight are the boots. They possess a certain fashionable street-style quality, designed with a white base, no laces, graffiti-style “USA” graphic overlay, and even an innovative FlyEase-inspired foot entry system with a red pull tab. Ask any hypebeast fan, I’m sure they would love to sport these sneakers all around the city.
Nike also designed Team USA’s hockey jerseys. They are coated in red, white, and blue with the word “USA” emblazoned across the chest.
Burton designed the U.S. snowboard uniforms and has done so for four consecutive Olympics. This year, the brand used NASA as their main source of inspiration. From the logo patches to the apparel themselves, they all embraced a retro NASA style, while creating futuristic design solutions. For example, Burton designed a custom, space-worthy fabric for this Olympic season made in part from actual aluminum. The result is an iridescent silver fabric used for the competition jacket and pants. They are lightweight, waterproof, and resistant to light and sound.
“This is the fourth Olympic uniform that Burton and myself have had the distinct pleasure of working on,” Greg Dacyshyn, head designer of Burton’s Olympic uniform program, shared in a press release. “Like the previous three, which had a retro-inspired influence, the 2018 theme is also a heavy nod to Americana, because its main influence is the iconic suits of the United States’ leading space exploration program. I have always loved the astronauts’ suits, because not only do they have such a cool and amazing aesthetic, they also were designed to function under the most extreme conditions, so this gave us an incredible platform to push the innovation and technology of the garments as well. My hope is that these pieces help the athletes go where no rider has gone before.”
Each brand’s uniform may have their own style, but they all have one thing in common: a celebration of Team USA.
Click through the gallery to see all of the 2018 U.S. Olympic uniforms so far, and check back as we update. Unfortunately, you can’t shop these exact uniforms, but you can still represent our nation in style by shopping for gear on teamusashop.com.
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