For which Olympic Games did Ralph Lauren first design U.S. team uniforms?

Ralph Lauren first designed U.S. team uniforms for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The company became an official outfitter of the U.S. Olympic Team for the Beijing Summer Games, beginning a partnership that continued through later Olympic competitions. Lauren’s role focused especially on the parade outfits worn during opening and closing ceremonies, along with village wear and accessories.

The Beijing appointment is easy to confuse with the 2012 London Olympics because Ralph Lauren also supplied uniforms there. However, London was a later Games in the same outfitting relationship. The company drew criticism after reports that some 2012 garments had been manufactured in China; for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, it promised that its Olympic clothing would be made in the United States.

Ralph Lauren’s Olympic designs are part of the brand’s broader use of athletic and collegiate imagery. The company has also outfitted teams for the 2010 Vancouver, 2014 Sochi, 2016 Rio and subsequent Olympic cycles.