Twitter Wants To Know Why Team USA's Uniforms Always Look Like... That

The Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony was a parade of seriously iconic fashion moments — I’m looking at you, Pita Taufatofua — so understandably, viewers across the United States were excited to see what the U.S. Olympic team would bring to the table. But, uh, according to people all over the internet, it’s safe to say the preppy Ralph Lauren-designed outfits didn’t meet expectations. These tweets about team USA's Olympic uniforms roast the cringe-worthy look, and honestly, can anyone blame them?

Ralph Lauren, an American designer known for invoking high-brow glamor and sophistication in his work, has been tasked with outfitting U.S. Olympic athletes since 2008. He unveiled his full spread of designs for the 2021 opening ceremony on July 14, which included cutting-edge jackets for flag bearers. But Twitter seems to be asking, are the designs really that unique? The outfits were characteristically patriotic: nautically striped t-shirts, sharp-lined navy blue blazers (made from American-grown wool), and an ascot designed to look like the U.S. flag.

The designs scream American patriotism in an “I have a trust fund” kind of way, and unsurprisingly, Twitter wasn’t having any of it. When Team USA appeared at the 2021 Olympics opening ceremony, everyone got busy roasting yet another year of prep-school-villain-chic uniforms.

As it turns out, the outfits probably felt as stifling as they looked, considering Tokyo summers are notoriously hot and humid. To help keep athletes cool in the subtropical climate, Ralph Lauren created a unique jacket with temperature-regulating technology. “Recognizing Tokyo’s summer heat, we sought to develop a solution for Team USA that fuses fashion and function — allowing [athletes] to look and feel their best on one of the world’s biggest stages,” David Lauren, chief brand and innovation officer for the Ralph Lauren Corporation, said of the jackets via an Instagram post. However, only flag bearers were allowed to sport the new tech, leaving the rest of the to just swelter in the heat, I guess?

Literally and figuratively speaking, those temperature-regulating jackets were probably the coolest part of the overall cringey outfit. Hey, there’s always 2024 to change things up.