When the U.S. Olympic team marches into the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang on Feb. 9, the athletes will be sporting their Ralph Lauren outfits — with a high-tech twist.
To keep Team USA warm in the frigid weather expected during the Olympics, Ralph Lauren provided the athletes parkas that have wearable heat technology, it was announced by the United States Olympic Committee last week. The parkas, as well as bomber jackets for the closing ceremony, include a streamlined heating piece made of electronic conductive printed inks and fastened to the inside of the jacket in the shape of a silver and carbon American flag.
David Lauren, Ralph Lauren’s chief innovation officer, told Cheddar in an interview that the athletes can control heating with their phones and that the heating element is “actually as thick as a thread of hair.”
“It’s just right across the back of your jacket, no wires, it totally syncs up with your phone and you can set the temperature,” Lauren added. He said the jacket sold out in retail stores within an hour and a half.
Get The Latest Sports Tech News In Your Inbox!
The heating component can last 11 hours, and according to USA Today, it is connected to a three-mode battery pack in the pocket of the jacket. That battery life will likely last many Olympians through a day’s worth of competition.
“It’s the most technologically advanced jacket ever produced,” Lauren told USA Today. “There have been heatable blankets for kids before but they have wires. This is a fabric with ink that heats up — it’s weightless, it’s conductive and it’s immediate.”
But the technological innovation in the parka isn’t just functional. It serves to showcase to the world what Lauren believes is the American spirit of innovation, and to help the athletes feel like they are truly representing the United States in everything they do.
“The idea is that when the U.S. team walks out at the opening ceremonies, we want them to feel like they’re representing our country. And what is our country about? It’s about leadership, it’s about innovation, looking to the future, so there’s always symbolism in everything that the athletes feel and do out there,” Lauren told Cheddar. “They’re on a global stage, and this is a stage for America.”