The world of elite sport descends on the home of high fashion this weekend and this is a culture clash we at TheIndustry.fashion are very excited about. The Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games has, in recent times, become the ultimate global catwalk. Gone are the days when the athletes would file into the stadium behind their flag-bearer wearing tracksuits and waving meekly to the crowd. These days, the outfits are designed to send a message to the world, not just about a nation’s sporting prowess but also about their superior culture, heritage and standing in the world.
It is ironic then that the nations blessed with the biggest fashion names to aid them in this quest (not least the host nation) have produced some of the least exciting (if perfectly nice) outfits.
Emporio Armani for Italy is very nice and the perfect shade of dark navy – we like the touch of the Italian flag lining the hoodies and the national anthem printed inside the garments. But of course they are very nice, they are Armani. However, they are not show-stopping, but then that’s not Armani’s style.
The United States has called upon fashion powerhouse and king of cool Americana Ralph Lauren to create their outfits. Lauren created typically preppy blazers for the Opening Ceremony (paired with jeans, which has upset a few people) and what look like NASA suits for the Closing Ceremony get-ups. Our Senior News & Features writer Chloe loved the USA outfits (see below) but apart from the jeans (we like the jeans!) there is nothing particularly unexpected here.
What of the French, who can be relied upon at all times for their unfailing chic? The host nation is home of Chanel, Christian Dior, Celine, Chloe… and that’s just the greats beginning with a C. Team France called upon former Vogue Paris Editor-in-Chief Carine Roitfeld (auspiciously her name too starts with a C) to help create their Opening Ceremony outfits. This maven of style in turn teamed up with leathergoods maker and tailor Berluti (part of LVMH) to create the uniforms.
Berluti for Team France
Berluti and Roitfeld have given us what look like Air France cabin crew outfits, albeit First Class ones. We can’t help thinking Dior Man Creative Director Kim Jones was born for this brief (though possibly born in the wrong country) with his vast experience of sportswear, streetwear, tailoring and high fashion. We would have loved to have seen his take. But again, these are perfectly nice, but we were hoping for something a bit more haute than this.
Still there is much to celebrate style-wise and what’s interesting is that the best outfits have come from perhaps the most unexpected nations (and who knows maybe some of the medals will too?). Below the team has selected their gold-medal winning outfits.
Indonesia
Denim is acceptable as a fabric for an Olympic national uniform and here’s the proof (though I’m not one of those outraged that the USA team are wearing jeans since they are so culturally relevant and, besides, they look cool).
For its Olympic team, Indonesia has turned to home-grown designer and graduate of Parsons School of Design in New York and Paris, Didit Hediprasetyo. These outfits are the perfect fusion of modern materials and tailoring and traditional Indonesian clothing.
The men’s attire is biker-inspired with washed-out denim jackets that are rooted in the Beskap, a traditional Javanese men’s suit, and paired with crisp white trousers for an athletic look. The women’s uniform, features a tailored Kebaya Kutubaru top in rich primary red, complemented by white jumpsuit pants, merges sportiness with regal elegance.
Attention to detail is evident in every aspect of the design, from the intricate stitching to the placement of the Indonesian emblem accented by red and white leather stripes to the sophisticated Javanese men’s turban, a Blangkon, with a contemporary twist of leather and denim. This piece in particular is exquisite.
I think in modern parlance, this is what is known as a total slay. I for one shall now be following the work of Didit Hediprasetyo with great interest and I’ll be rooting for the Indonesian athletes too.
Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.
Great Britain
Ben Sherman has once again taken the baton as the official supplier of Team GB for the Olympics, with Paris 2024 marking its third consecutive time of providing exclusively designed looks for the athletes for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
Working closely with the Team GB athletes, you have to say Ben Sherman has done a sterling job. A stand-out piece is a bomber style jacket with a white body, navy sleeves and red, white and blue striped trim on the knitted cuffs and waistband. It also has an embroidered Union Jack flag on the left chest with the five Olympic rings underneath, as well as a specially designed four nation floral motif – with a rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock as a nod to the identities and histories of each of the four nations within the UK. It definitely works for Team GB, while also still nodding to Ben Sherman’s early 60s Mod roots.
Being worn under the jacket is an eye-catching polo shirt with an all-over geometric Union flag print, and there’s light blue Oxford trousers that feature a subtle Union flag when you turn them up. What’s more, fans can buy into the look as there’s also a limited-edition capsule line that nods to what the athletes are wearing.
Ben Sherman has definitely gone for gold on the podium of style, it now waits to see if Team GB can match its effort on track, field and everything else the Olympics has to offer.
Tom Bottomley, Contributing Editor.
Chinese Taipei
Team Chinese Taipei has revealed its opening ceremony outfits, designed and crafted by Justin Chou, the creative behind avant-garde streetwear brand JUST IN XX. This is Chou’s second Olympic design, following his work for the 2020 Tokyo Games. Having built up a reputation for collaborating with local artisans and transforming traditional crafts into cutting-edge designs, Chou has brought the same vision to the Olympic uniforms.
Merging culture and sustainability with fashion, as well as incorporating traditional crafts like Chunzai flowers, the striking suits not only celebrate Taiwan’s fashion industry on an international stage but also pay homage to the country’s heritage.
To achieve this, Chou has worked alongside contemporary Taiwanese artist Paul Chiang to create a fabric print that reflects Taiwan’s natural beauty and resilience, blending the country’s mountainous landscape with its shimmering ocean. What’s more, an optical illusion created by typography designer Kokia Lin, digitally printed in 3D and adorned the polo shirts, transforms the words “Chinese Taipei” into “Cheer on” when read from the side – attention to detail is certainly not missing from this attire.
Completing the look, Taiwanese artist Yan Yu-Ying has incorporated her banana fibre woven fabric for the belt and shoe uppers. An ancient textile tradition that remains in Taiwan, this traditional skill originates from the indigenous Kavalan tribe and was used to make clothing and reusable objects. Meanwhile, flower-weaving artist Lin Pei-Ying has created chest pins depicting the national flower, the plum blossom, as well as the canola flower, symbolising “encouragement, pursuing dreams, and fearlessness” in an attempt to convey blessings to Olympic athletes.
Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer.
USA
An Olympic opening ceremony uniform is somewhat a reflection of a country’s national uniform. Despite it not being necessarily the most flamboyant of looks, Team USA’s look knocks it out of the park when it comes to conjuring an image of the ‘American look’. I mean, no one is more American than the American dream incarnate Ralph Lauren (Ralph Lifshitz).
This year marks the ninth time Ralph Lauren has been the official outfitter for Team USA. When it debuted the Team USA uniforms, Ralph Lauren said the design “embraces a patriotic spirit reflected in a signature palette of red, white and blue.”
A blue, red and white Ralph Lauren ensemble… nothing could exude 21st-century American fashion more. Yet, there are hints of Parisian tropes within the patriotic fits. The Opening Ceremony uniforms are made up of a tailored single-breasted wool blazer, striped Oxford shirt, tapered jeans and a white brogue.
Let’s see if Team USA can achieve the ‘American Dream’, just like their designer, at the Summer Olympics 2024.
Chloé Burney, Senior News & Features Writer.
We also love…
Haiti
Designed by Haitian-Italian designer Stella Jean, these looks combing Haitian traditional dress along with culture and art and fuse it with a bit of inspiration from Parisian Haute Couture – the women’s silhouette is definitely reminiscent of Dior’s New Look. The skirts and trousers feature art from a painting called Passage by Haitian painter Philippe Dodard while the men’s blue shirts are inspired by the Guayabera – a traditional shirt which is made using a special Haitian weaving technique. The women’s sleeveless jacket is made using recycled fabric with beautiful blue edging and a cinched waist adding a chic twist.
Mongolia
A lot of fuss (good fuss) has been made of Mongolia’s outfits and we can see why. These have been created by Mongolian sister designers Michel and Amazonka Choigaalaa. Each outfit took around 20 hours to make, and draws inspiration from traditional clothing worn in Mongolia. The stunning vests are emblazoned with iconography including the Olympic flame and the Eiffel Tower, along with symbols that represent Mongolia like the Soyombo – which appears on the Mongolian flag – and the mythological Gua-Maral deer. Also the female athletes get official earrings and intricately embroidered handbags. Really this would not look out of place on one for the French capital’s couture runways.
Main image: Team GB flagbearer and Olympic gold medal winning diver Tom Daley in Ben Sherman. Courtesy of Ben Sherman.
