Norwegians Accuse Team USA of ‘Stealing’ Iconic Star Motif

Team USA is in hot water with Norway over its uniforms at the 2026 Winter Olympics, which Norwegians say copy the Scandinavian country’s traditional iconography.

As athletes from the United States entered the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, social media users noticed that the patterns on their sweaters closely resembled designs commonly used in Norway.

Created by American designer Ralph Lauren, the opening ceremony outfits appear to incorporate the Selburose, a culturally significant pattern in Norway. Ralph Lauren has designed Team USA’s Winter and Summer Olympic Games outfits for the last 10 years.

The debate started after a photo of Ralph Lauren’s now sold-out Team USA Opening Ceremony Sweater appeared on the r/Norway subreddit yesterday.

The red, white, and blue patterned sweater bears a strong resemblance to the Mariusgenser, or Marius Sweater, a well-known style of knitwear inspired by the traditional Norwegian Setesdal wool sweater, though it remains unclear whether this similarity was deliberate

The design features patterns covering the chest and upper arms, including the Selburose, an eight-pointed star.

Despite its international roots, the pattern is internationally recognized as a distinctly Norwegian symbol, central to the uproar.

The resemblance is strengthened by the shared colors of the U.S. and Norwegian flags: red, white, and blue.

“Wow. Despite the flag, I thought this was a Norwegian outfit,” one user wrote.

Some declared the design outright “stolen” in the thread, labeling it “cultural appropriation.”

Ralph Lauren describes the sweater, priced at nearly $700, on its website as “knit with thick-gauge wool, it incorporates bold graphics and color-blocking in a spirited palette of red, white, and blue. It features a historical American flag at the front and ‘USA’ at the back, along with the official logo patch of the U.S. Olympic Team and the Olympic Rings.”

The Selburose pattern, described by Ralph Lauren as “embroidered stars,” also appeared on the Team USA Opening Ceremony Earflap Hat.

As images from Friday’s opening ceremony circulated, more people noticed the similarities between the Norwegian pattern and the Team USA sweater.

Afterposten, a Norwegian news outlet, called the Team USA Olympic outfits a “clear reference to Norwegian knit sweaters.”

The Selburose was popularized in Selbu, Norway, in 1857. Marit Guldsetbrua Emsta, a local teenage girl, is credited with creating the first pair of mittens with the now-famous rose symbol.

“It’s a bit odd to see Team USA dressed in clearly Scandinavian/Norwegian motifs,” one TikTok user wrote, noting that the patterns used in the clothes are “tied to specific regional traditions.”

“National Olympic outfits are supposed to reflect your culture, not borrow someone else’s aesthetics because it looks ‘wintery,’” the person continued.

“Funny that they’re trying to represent Norway in the Winter Olympics,” another person wrote, after recognising the pattern as selburose.

Ralph Lauren and Team USA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.