The Olympics are coming to the fashion capital. Expect uniforms worthy of the Paris runways.
Paris: Sure, they call it the city of light. But Paris is also the city of fashion, and has been one of the most influential fashion capitals in the world for decades, if not centuries (remember Louis XIV?).
So it’s no surprise that fashion designers around the world are busy preparing national team uniforms for a unique spotlight. When it comes to high-end Olympic fashion – whether it’s the opening ceremony or the competition – all the runways lead to Paris.
Stella Jean personally styles about a dozen athletes from Haiti. Jean, an Italian-Haitian designer based in Rome, believes that you only have two seconds on opening night to make an impression on the world. That impression can reverberate for years. “For these athletes, just being here is a victory,” Jean says. Her vibrant and colorful designs are meant to highlight the cultural vibrancy of the Caribbean nation.
On the other end of the size (and budget) spectrum is Ralph Lauren, who will be the ninth to dress hundreds of Team USA athletes for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Lauren, who keeps things casual in jeans and a blazer, is of course one of the world’s wealthiest designers, working with Giorgio Armani, who has been designing the Italian uniforms since 2012.
There were a lot of other designers involved. This year, there were more young “indie” labels, which we wanted to highlight. It’s also an opportunity to highlight characteristics like sustainability and adaptability in fashion, like Paralympic design.
“Designers and manufacturers are now realizing that this can be a huge platform for them in many ways,” says Allison Brown, co-host of “Keep the Flame Alive,” a podcast about all things Olympic. For example, “sustainability is a huge buzzword right now around these Olympics,” she says.
The same goes for style, because Paris is that kind of country.
“You always want to represent your country, you always want to represent your athletes, but this time the pressure to do well seems to be on another level,” Brown says.
Some new details on the various uniform designs:
Canada: Focus on Inclusion, Adaptability
During the design process, the team at Lululemon, which provides Canadian athletes with second-tier clothing, says they listened closely to the athletes and how they felt when wearing the clothes. “When you feel your best, you perform your best,” says Audrey Riley, creative director for Team Canada at the athletic apparel company.
She recalls hearing the story of Allison Levine, a Paralympic athlete who uses a wheelchair, and learning that she had to wear surgical scrubs because she did not have proper clothing to train in.
“I was shocked that a professional athlete would do something like that,” Reilly said in an interview. So we said, “Let’s look into it.” One of the results was the “Sit Carpenter Pants,” part of an inclusive and adaptable collection. Other features include a special fastening mechanism that makes it easy to put on and take off, and pockets on the knees so athletes like Levine can access their phones while training.
The collection covers every aspect of Team Canada’s journey, from the travel to the games to the opening ceremony and medal ceremonies to training – everything but the competition. Lululemon, which has a four-game contract with the team, paid special attention to ventilation and moisture wicking to cope with the expected scorching heat in Paris.
And for the opening ceremony, the designers created what they call a “pride tapestry.” Hand-painted and engineered into fabric, the tapestry features 10 animals, nine representing Canada’s provinces and one representing France. “We wanted to represent all of Canada, from coast to coast, north to south,” Reilly says.
Haiti: “They know their bodies are a flag”
Stella Jean is no stranger to designing beautiful clothes. But when it came to her designs for Team Haiti, beauty for beauty's sake wasn't a consideration. It was all about the message.
“This is probably the first good news to come out of Haiti in at least three years,” she said, adding that the athletes’ presence was a counter-message to the news about political turmoil, poverty or natural disasters. “So I felt a responsibility to say as much as I could about this country.”
To do this, Jang is collaborating with Haitian artist Philippe Dodar, whose vivid paintings will be incorporated into the ceremonial uniforms. The women’s wear brightly colored skirts, while the men’s wear trousers, with traditional items such as chambray shirts. The designs are made from “leftover” fabrics. Jang says it’s sustainable, but not because it’s trendy, but because in Haiti it’s tradition and a necessity.
Jang calls the Haitian players “ambassadors.”
“These ambassadors will be in Paris,” she says. “They all know, even though they are very, very young, how important their presence is. And it's not just about performance. They know that their bodies are flags.”
USA: “Nothing says America better than jeans.”
At last summer's Olympics in humid Tokyo, Ralph Lauren gave athletes something to cool them down with – literally – technology that dissipated heat through a fan device mounted on the back of their necks.
He's set to show off another cool style for humid Paris: old American jeans.
“There’s nothing that says America more than a pair of jeans, especially when you’re in Paris,” David Lauren, the brand’s chief branding and innovation officer and son of the founder, said when the designs were unveiled in June.
Ralph Lauren said he will personally dress each athlete in his ninth turn at dressing Team USA for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. For the Opening Ceremony, he will wear a tailored navy blazer, blue and white striped oxford shirt, and jeans.
For the closing ceremony, the team will wear red, white and blue jackets with matching white jeans. Lauren said the closing ceremony “looks more graphic, more fun and a little more exciting.”
India: Mixing the old with the new
Indian designer Tarun Tahiliani is known for his ability to blend traditional elements with a modern sensibility, and that’s exactly what he and his menswear label Tasba have attempted to do for their country’s Olympic team.
Tahiliani told GQ India that when he began researching India’s Opening Ceremony uniform, he noticed a trend among countries incorporating their national flags into their designs. So he set about working on a design that featured a tricolour of saffron, white and green.
For men, Tahiliani started with a kurta, a typical Asian long, loose shirt. He paired it with a bundi, a traditional sleeveless jacket. He told the magazine that he wears a bundi every day, inspired by his father, who was an admiral in the Indian Navy.
After receiving feedback from the Olympic Committee, the designer moved away from the uniform-like look of women's clothing and opted for a sari. “A sari that flatters all body types is exactly what we want for our female athletes,” he said.
All designs incorporate saffron and green embroidery. “The goal is to create outfits that will allow our athletes to represent India with pride and confidence,” Tahiliani said.
Italy: A mix of elegance and tradition
The Italian athletes will wear elegant Emporio Armani kits, as they have done at every Olympic Games since 2012.
The podium tracksuit is emblazoned with “W Italia,” an acronym for “Eviva Italia,” or “Long live Italy,” a motto that could be extended to designer Giorgio Armani himself, who turns 90 on July 11.
“It is always an interesting challenge for me to find new solutions for a player’s kit that must combine elegance and practicality,” Armani said last year when the national kit was presented at the young and sporty Emporio Armani brand’s spring-summer 2024 runway show.
The players' training suits were made in Armani blue, a shade the designer has long worn as his everyday uniform on T-shirts and pullovers.
There is no excuse for athletes not knowing the national anthem. The national anthem is printed on the inside of their polo shirt collars, and the entire first verse is printed on the inside of their jackets.
Britain: Four Nations, Not One
For the third time, British menswear brand Ben Sherman, known for its 60-year-old menswear, will be creating the British Olympic uniform, this year reminding the world that the UK is made up of four nations, not one.
The designs for the opening and closing ceremonies “represent the unity and diversity of the UK and reflect the rich patterns of our national identity,” said Mark Williams, the brand’s creative director.
In an email, Williams described the new four-country floral motif, featuring roses, thistles, daffodils and chamomiles, as a “homage to the unique identities and histories of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.”
Williams emphasizes that the motif is not purely decorative, but is meant to convey a message of collaboration and unity. His floral motif appears on polo shirts in blue and red, worn with bomber jackets, and on colorful socks in collaboration with the Happy Socks brand.
South Korea: Inspired by National Symbols
South Korea's players wear uniforms inspired by the country's national “Taegeuk” circular symbol in the center of the flag. The red and blue circle symbolizes the harmony between the negative cosmic power of the blue part and the positive cosmic power of the red part.
The motif of the North Face brand uniform includes one of the four black bars (groups of bars) at the corners of the national flag, according to Youngone Outdoor Co., an official partner of the Korean Olympic Committee that produces and distributes North Face apparel in Korea. The bars used symbolize water.
According to Youngone Corporation, the medal ceremony uniform will consist of a jacket depicting the blue sea water off the east coast of Korea in a sumi-e style, a red belt, and black pants.
The opening and closing ceremonies uniforms for the Korean national team were designed by Musinsa Standard, a private label brand operated by Korean online fashion store Musinsa. The bright blue uniform features a blazer with a traditional white and blue porcelain design on the lining, and includes a traditional style belt and slacks.
