It is now well-established that these Parisian Olympics will be characterized by a great focus on uniforms and competition kits, the brands involved, and the looks they will propose. During the opening ceremony, which will be held next week – on July 26, along the Seine – there are four uniforms we can’t wait to see on the athletes. The first one is clearly that of Mongolia, which everyone is talking about. In second place are the uniforms of England, for which Ben Sherman has been chosen for the opening and closing ceremonies. In third place are those of Haiti, designed by the Italian-Haitian designer Stella Jean, and in last place – but not least – are the closing ceremony uniforms of the USA designed by Ralph Lauren, which have also attracted a lot of attention. It is also worth reflecting on those of Italy, which have been created by Emporio Armani since 2012 under a contract that will last until 2026, the year of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. We had already talked about the French uniforms, designed by Stéphane Ashpool, here.
Mongolia’s Uniforms at the Olympics
The uniforms that will be worn by Mongolian athletes – both for the opening and closing ceremonies – were designed by Michel & Amazonka, a local brand founded in 2015 in Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital. Tradition and elegance immediately catch the eye and seem to be the reason for the volume of social media interactions regarding them. The golden embroidery and representations of the sun, moon, and the Gua-Maral – the beautiful doe from Mongolian mythology – are thus the key to the media success received by images of the athletes wearing these uniforms. On the brand’s Instagram profile, we find many details, here for the men’s uniforms and here for the women’s uniforms.
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Great Britain’s Uniforms by Ben Sherman
If we have already talked about the adidas kits for Great Britain here, for the ceremonial uniforms, the British team has relied on Ben Sherman, bringing a breath of creativity to uniforms that, although not as eccentric as those of Mongolia or Haiti, have nothing to envy from other nations. What distinguishes the embroidery are the symbols of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland: respectively the rose, the thistle, the daffodil, and the shamrock.
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Haiti and the Design by Stella Jean
In the bio of Stella Jean – the brand of Stella Novarino, the Italian-Haitian designer who took care of the ceremonial uniforms for Haitian athletes – it reads «multiculturalism is irreversible». A claim well present in the genesis of these uniforms. Take, for example, the jacket that will be worn by men, very close to the idea of the guayabera – a pleated shirt with two (or four) pockets originating from other Latin American countries including Haiti. In the case of the women’s uniforms, there is a wide circle skirt (truly spectacular) featuring the print of a painting by Philippe Dodard – a Haitian painter – named Passage. The same print is found on the men’s trousers. Along with the skirt is a chambray shirt, another piece of tradition—a light blue cotton fabric that has been worn by Haitian workers and farmers since the 1940s. The vest, on the other hand, is made from scrap materials.
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Gli USA preppy e sensazionalistici pensati da Ralph Lauren
The USA has also attracted a lot of attention with the presentation of their opening and closing ceremony uniforms, designed by Ralph Lauren since 2008. Like Italy, the choice fell on one of the designers who best represents the United States and its national identity. The distinctly preppy style and classic lines of the uniforms are evident in the elements: a white and light blue striped shirt accompanied by a blue jacket, a tie, and the quintessentially American jeans for the opening ceremony. For the closing ceremony, there’s a lighter-colored jacket reminiscent of a biker (although it looks more like an astronaut’s to us), paired with a polo shirt and white trousers. The launch photos are certainly sensationalistic but impactful.
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What We Expect from These Olympics Beyond the Uniforms
If Italy has focused on the elegance and formality that have characterized our uniforms for so long, the creativity and symbols that unite us are lacking—features that we see in other uniforms. The fact that Paris is known as the capital of luxury and the birthplace of some of the most famous fashion houses in the world is not the only reason we expect a nod to fashion and style in these Olympics. LVMH, one of the sponsors of these Olympic Games, controls seventy-five brands, and every occasion is good for a branded photo shoot. This aspect of the grand Olympic machine has been clear since the 1970s when brands began to be more directly involved in the sponsorship system of athletes. In short, we expect many fashion moments from these Olympics, starting from July 26.
