As the closing ceremonies wrap up the Summer 2024 Olympics on Sunday and athletes head home a few medals heavier, it's a good time to look at the behind-the-scenes efforts that helped make the Games possible.
Hundreds of suppliers and manufacturers contribute to the Games and produce everything from sports equipment to the athletes’ uniforms. For Team USA opening and closing ceremony clothing maker Ralph Lauren, that includes manufacturing all of its clothing in the U.S.
This was the company’s ninth time as an official outfitter, according to a Ralph Lauren press release.
Ralph Lauren began designing clothing for the winter and summer U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.
Yet the retailer doesn’t work alone. This year, the company partnered with at least six U.S.-based apparel manufacturers for the Games, according to a Ralph Lauren spokesperson. Suppliers included Ferrara Manufacturing, California-based Adari Fashion Inc., Rancourt and Co. Shoecrafters, Rogue Industries, Shaniko Wool Company and Saitex USA.
“Ralph Lauren is profoundly honored to define the look of the American delegation as they represent our country in one of the world’s most celebrated and storied events,” David Lauren, chief branding and innovation officer of Ralph Lauren Corp., said in a press release.
The high-end tailor turned Olympic manufacturer
Ferrara Manufacturing is a New York-based, family-owned, high-end tailoring apparel manufacturer. The company has been an Olympics partner with Ralph Lauren since 2014.
Ferrara made the opening ceremony blazer and flag bearer blazer, the striped shirt, and for the closing ceremony, produced the moto jacket and the flag bearer jacket, COO Gabrielle Ferrara said.
The company, founded in 1987, has been making clothes for Ralph Lauren’s Purple Label since 1994 and manufactures everything at a facility in Long Island City, New York.
Ferrara opened the 50,000-square-foot manufacturing plant last year with about 115 employees. The facility includes 3D printing and automatic sewing, which Ferrara used on some of the Olympic outfits’ patches and small parts, Ferrara said in an email.
“One hundred percent of our factory is in the United States. So we were very proud to work on a Made in USA program, especially of this level and prestige,” Ferrara said. “It's a very exciting moment for us to represent our most talented athletes and put clothes on them and make the clothes that they wear on the global stage.”
In addition to making clothes for high-end retailers like Calvin Klein and Donna Karan, Ferrara Manufacturing also makes uniforms for the U.S. government, including the U.S. Army, Marine Corp., Air Force and Coast Guard, according to its website.
“I think the combination of the two is actually really great because we have the capability and the craft of producing super complicated garments, but we actually love industrializing things,” Ferrara said. “So when we're making uniforms, for example, we still have very high levels of craft involved, but we're able to apply all that technology to make it more cost efficient and precise.”
The Olympics clothing supply chain starts at the source
The Olympic ceremonies wouldn't be complete without the raw material that manufacturers use to produce the clothes. Shaniko Wool Company is a sheep rancher based out of Shaniko, Oregon. The company began working with Ralph Lauren on its Made in USA program in 2012, according to founder and CEO Jeanne Carver.
The wool company has been making wool for over 150 years, when it was previously called Imperial Stock Ranch. The farm group has grown to 10 partner ranches spread across the West — from Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, Idaho and California.
Shaniko Wool Co. supplied the wool used in the blazers at the ceremony, which is certified under the Responsible Wool Standard, which evaluates ranchers’ use of animal welfare, land management and social requirements, according to the Textile Exchange Organization. The rancher prides itself on having a completely transparent supply chain and sustainable ecosystem, Carver said.
Carver rebranded as Shaniko Wool Co. in 2018 as more retailers like Ralph Lauren took a corporate position on sustainability and materials, she said.
Carver also credits Ralph Lauren with helping other brands locate the sustainable wool company by recognizing them as an Olympic manufacturing partner.
“But the fact that they [Ralph Lauren] make us visible, the first time and then have continued, is really important, because in agriculture, we're the beginning of the value story,” Carver said. “We are in the dirt, far from town, far from the Olympics, far from New York City. I'm far from every place where they actually do the manufacturing.”
