by Alison Brown
As we get closer and closer to the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics and Paralympics, there’s kit news everywhere! We have opening and closing ceremony uniforms for Team USA. The Milano Cortina 2026 Organizing Committee also released its victory ceremony and volunteer uniforms. What fashion will we see at the Games? Let’s get into it!
Ralph Lauren unveils Team USA’s Ceremonies’ looks
Team USA Opening Ceremony uniform. Photo: Ralph Lauren
Outfitter Ralph Lauren released its 10th opening ceremony outfit for Team USA, and it is classic Ralph Lauren (read: they recycled almost every element from previous uniforms). The best piece is the white woolen coat with toggle buttons. All the previous Ralph Lauren winter uniforms save one included a puffer coat, so this is a welcome and stylish change.
The other pieces? The Nordic detailing on the sweater is nearly identical to 2018. Take off the year, and the pants are a pleated version of the pants from 2014, and the hat is the 2010 hat with strings. Ralph Lauren offers the same shoes every winter cycle in varying shades with different color laces. Sure, the athletes will look sharp marching into San Siro (Olympics) and Arena di Verona (Paralympics) and the pieces work on a wide variety of body types. But please, for the love of God, Team USA, get a new designer!
Also, don’t tuck a thick sweater into your pants with a belt – unforgivable crime, straight to jail.
Team USA Closing Ceremony uniform. Photo: Ralph Lauren
The closing ceremony outfit is basically the winterized version of the Paris 2024 motorcycle jacket closing ceremony outfit. Tricolor jacket? Check. White pants? Check. Red, white, and blue shirt? Check. Matching hat? Check. It looks comfortable and warm which fits perfectly with the spirit of the closing ceremony, but I would love to see something completely out there, even if it was controversial and ugly, to break the repetition.
Milano Cortina 2026’s Victory Ceremony and volunteer uniforms.
Milano Cortina 2026 organizers released two major fashion milestones: the uniforms for the victory ceremony (or as I like to call them, the medal girls and boys) and uniforms for the army of volunteers.
Milano Cortina 2026 Victory Ceremony uniform. Photo: Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026
Rather than use a specific designer, Milano Cortina 2026 organizers opted to have a contest among fashion institutes to develop its Victory Ceremony uniforms. Students at the Accademia di Brera, a fashion design school, won the competition with this look.
The uniforms include a sweater, shiny trousers, puffer overcoat, hat, and leather gloves. The design varies slightly for men and women, with women wearing a turtleneck version of the sweater, a belt added to the overcoat, and a bucket hat. The men get a quarter zip-up sweater and flat cap.
Do the uniforms remind you of the Paris 2024 victory ceremony uniforms? I see the connection, but I would never accuse Italian designers of stealing from French designers (but maybe I just did).
This uniform gives a distinctive 1970s vibe with the wide-lapel trench coat-style puffer coat and shiny, pleated pants. It certainly looks warm and the leather gloves are an Italian classic. I have not been able to find information on the fabric of the pants. Brushed wool? Two-tone polyester? Iridescent taffeta? I can’t tell. What isn’t classic? How badly the uniforms were tailored for the models at the press unveiling. How hard is it to shorten a hem? Why are they wearing puddle pants?
Milano Cortina 2026 volunteer uniforms. Photo: Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026
Volunteers, on the other hand, will look so sharp no matter where they are working. Created by activewear designer Salomon, the collection includes 17 pieces to make the uniform function in all environments for the over 18,000 volunteers. Volunteers will get a heavy outer coat for events in the snow, several mid-weight layers like a knit polo and fleece sweater, and extremely cool hiking shoes and sneakers.
Clothes feature the very Italian Savoy blue and the turquoise and yellow “Vibe” accents that we have seen in several aspects of the Games design. These volunteers will look way cooler than any of us in the media, but that is not a high bar.
Luckily, we’re not done with Olympic fashion for the 2026 Games. There’s more to come!