During the fury about outsourcing the manufacture of Olympic
uniforms to China, there has been less commentary on what the Ralph
Lauren fashion stands for.
Instead, those who denigrate procurement of Olympic kit from
China have chosen to make patriotism, the economics of outsourcing,
and fear of China their battleground during a caustic election
year. House Speaker John Boehner, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have eloquently expressed their
dismay. However, there has been remarkably limited focus on the
statement made by the uniforms as a symbol of Americana and
American values.
In this debate, strident voices have played the China card,
raising the specter of a bête noir that threatens to
devour the entire Fortune 500 — if those companies do not
completely outsource themselves first, disappearing into the
hypothetical ether. Who knows — their angst may come from from the
dichotomy of East and West, autocracy versus democracy, and
economic planning versus free markets. Further, they may compare
opaqueness with transparency, the former being repugnant to a
Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank dominated standard for financial
disclosure and behavior. And lurking beneath these dualisms could
be China’s blue water and high tech naval aspirations from the
Persian Gulf to the Strait of Malacca, and in the South China Sea
and Pacific Ocean at large. In short, Olympic uniforms manufactured
by the factories of the world’s second largest economy are deemed a
threat to the American ego, as well as a reminder of strategic
competition, high unemployment, and potential cosmic strife.
Fine — but we must remember that much has changed since the
first Olympic Games in 776 B.C. At that time, there was no
Official Preppy Handbook to guide men and women
in their tastes, idioms, and sartorial splendor. In ancient Greece,
athletes competed in the nude, a trend that may have started when a
runner’s loin cloth fell off, as reported by the National
Geographic News some years ago. And in ancient times,
athletes did not wear red, white, and blue hats somewhat resembling
berets but more befitting a sous-chef on the Fourth of July.
As a symbol of the American way, the Olympic uniforms are all
form and the wrong substance. They speak to a life of excess of the
Hamptons of the 1920s, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and his character Jay
Gatsby, a dandy of wealth and glamour from an imaginary place named
West Egg, Long Island. They say to the observer, “Hey notice me,
I’ve got the goods” in English. They also seem to say “Je ne sais
quoi” in French, a well-known Romance language of the celebrated
eurozone.
There is no question that Ralph Lauren has brilliantly created a
sartorial and life style global enterprise — a cult of retro
elegance for some. However, one must wonder if the United States
Olympic Committee selected Ralph Lauren for strategic reasons, or
just because he manufactures fine quality preppy styles that are
widely accepted in the U.S. and abroad and because he has made
Olympic uniforms since 2008.
If Olympic uniforms are to speak to strategy and the American
brand, the Olympic Committee should first decide what that is, and
what values are to be projected in a complicated world — no longer
one that is American and non-American, preppy and non-preppy,
natural fiber and polyester. It is no secret that the American
brand has been tarnished among some of our allies such as Britain,
Israel, Poland and the Czech Republic due to a series of cultural
missteps, perceived abandonment, and the desire to “reset” affairs
with Russia. Inconsistent policies toward Libya, Egypt, Syria, and
Iran project an image of confusion about the Middle East in the
White House and State Department. Further, seemingly intractable
wars in the Muslim world have damaged our national stock there, and
we are seen as contributing to a potentially failed state on our
border — Mexico.
The Olympic uniforms were an opportunity to present a new face
of America — one of leadership in multiculturalism and democracy.
Complementing American insignia, an abstract collage resembling
flags on black high tech fiber would be one way to make that
statement.
There is little evidence that the U.S. government is succeeding
in its projection of American values in a positive manner. With
some direction from the Olympic Committee about strategy and the
American brand, Ralph Lauren could doubtless rise to the occasion
in the 2014 Olympic Games, to be held in Russia.
