Jane Han is the North America editor for The Korea Times. Based in Seattle, she has covered business, culture and social issues across the United States for over 15 years. She previously worked at The Boston Globe.
Korean couple take US uniform beefs to heart
By Jane Han
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Todd Lodwick of the United States carries the national flag as he leads the team during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Feb. 7. / AP-Yonhap
NEW YORK ― It’s been a week since the 2014 Winter Olympics kicked off and people are still talking about Team USA’s opening ceremony uniforms.
While criticisms about them may not really matter to most people, there is one Korean couple in California who can’t help but take it personally.
Why? They’re the ones who made it.
``We put in our hard work and sweat into it, so of course it hurts,’’ Elizabeth Park, co-owner of the knitwear factory that made the controversial cardigan, said in a Korea Times interview.
The shawl-collar, wool cardigan, designed by American fashion icon Ralph Lauren, features a navy blue base covered with patches of oversized red and white stars and stripes. While some compliment the uniform just for being made in the U.S. ― unlike the Chinese-made uniforms for the London Games ― the general public wasn’t exactly impressed with the opening look.
``Every night after work, I found myself going online to check what people had to say about our cardigan,’’ Park said, urging critics not to look only at the sweater itself, but the message behind it.
``It’s very American. It is classic, yet carries a modern twist. I think it displays the true spirit of Americana,’’ the 56-year-old said, confidently.
For Park, it’s only natural to defend her work. After all, the husband-and-wife duo and 50 other full-time employees spent an average of 12 hours a day to put out the finished pieces.
Each hand-sewn cardigan called for at least 14 hours of meticulous, hands-on labor.
``We were first given the job by Ralph Lauren in 2012, but as with any other design, there were repeated edits and additions that had to be made,’’ she said, adding that her team had to do some heavy crunch work toward the end to meet the deadline.
``Not one of the 650 cardigans is identical because every person has their own way of doing stitch work,’’ explained Park, who still isn’t sure how her company, Ball of Cotton, was selected to take on such a big-scale project.
``I know that Ralph Lauren was busy in search for the right vendor,’’ she said, ``so I guess we got lucky to get chosen. It really is an honor.’’
Park and her husband Eddy, 61, both immigrants from Korea, have been in the business in California for more than 20 years, but wouldn’t compare their Olympic job to no other.
``This isn’t something you get to do every day,’’ she said.
Despite the criticism, Team USA’s Ralph Lauren cardigan, priced at $595, is already sold out online.