The Paris Olympics have swiftly come upon us, and on the morning of the event’s Opening Ceremony, which is set to start with a procession on the Seine River at 7:30pm CEST, we are taking a look at a selection of the always highly anticipated uniforms that will grace some of the world’s most skilled, decorated and recognisable athletes. To create such wares, many countries turned to local talent, relying on homegrown brands and designers to bring forth uniforms that evoke their country’s identity with, more often than not, a modernised twist.
Here are some of the Opening Ceremony uniforms that will be making their way down the Seine on the big night.
Team Chinese Taipei x Justin Chou
Justin Chou, the creative director of streetwear brand Just In XX, had already unveiled the uniforms of Team Chinese Taipei, the national team of Taiwan, at the most recent edition of Taipei Fashion Week. It marks the local designer’s second round of providing athletes with uniforms, having previously worked on looks for the 2020 Tokyo Games. This time, Chou wanted to merge culture and sustainability with fashion, as well as further incorporating heritage crafts like Chunzai flowers, resulting in the four-piece suits. The designer worked with artist Paul Chiang on optical illusion prints, used pulp and oyster shell to make woven labels and collaborated with artisan Yan Yu-Ying on incorporating banana fibre fabric into certain elements of the final design.
Team USA x Ralph Lauren
Team USA turned to the country’s widely established designer Ralph Lauren for its own suiting. It marks the ninth time the premium label has been the official outfitter for the US team, and this time sees its own codes infused with Parisian tropes while still embracing patriotic spirit through the use of a blue, white and red colour palette. While Ralph Lauren will also be providing the team with Ceremonial looks and Closing Ceremony outfits, the brand’s Opening Ceremony uniforms include modern tailoring in the form of single-breasted wool blazers and striped oxford shirts paired with tapered jeans.
Team France x Berluti
LVMH-owned Berluti was a natural pick for France’s opening ceremony outfits given that its parent company is an official Olympic sponsor this year. And in typical French fashion, the luxury label put to use the experience of its artisans to create custom-tailored head-to-toe outfits, all designed in France and made in Italy. The looks consist of a blue wool tuxedo complete with a specially created “French flag” motif, paying tribute to the house’s historic savoir-faire.
Team Mongolia x Michel & Amazonka
Sibling designer duo of Michel & Amazonka were given just three months to design what would become the most talked about Opening Ceremony outfits this year. For Team Mongolia, the looks, which quickly went viral across social media once unveiled and each took 20 hours to make, were inspired by the country’s traditional clothing. This is particularly prominent in the intricately embroidered vests, on which gold threads illustrate ties between Mongolia and the Paris Olympics – the game’s torch surrounded by a mountainous landscape. The looks are completed with sashes, dresses, embroidered pouches and similarly eye-catching jewellery.
Team Canada x Lululemon
Canadian sportswear label Lululemon has provided its country’s team with kit for the Opening and Closing ceremonies, as well as medal ceremonies, media appearances, travel and daily life. A key part of the opening look includes a jacquard bomber jacket featuring a print that looks to celebrate art, architecture and nature found in Canada. In a statement, the brand’s CEO, Calvin McDonald, said that the company took an “innovation-first approach to design” which had been driven by athlete insights.
Team GB x Ben Sherman
For its third consecutive Olympic Games, Ben Sherman has returned as Team GB’s official supplier, providing athletes with looks that draw inspiration from the UK’s cultural heritage to “promote unity and express a sense of pride”. This is reflected in the Opening Ceremony outfit, which includes a bomber-style jacket with a specially designed four-nation floral motif featuring a rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock as a nod to the identities of each of the UK’s nations. This sits over a knitted open-neck polo with a classic red and blue motif and oxford trousers with a Union Flag tape waistband.
Team Australia x Sportscraft
Sportscraft, now for the tenth time, and footwear brand Volley teamed up to provide Olympic athletes of Team Australia with outfits for the Opening Ceremony. Combining the country’s traditional green tone with a gold base, the looks aim to reflect modern sporting elements. The hero piece is a blazer adorned, for the first time, with the Australian Olympians’ Oath on the inside jacket pocket, while the lining displays the names of all 301 Australian Summer Olympic champions. Athletes can choose to wear either stone-coloured chino shorts or a gold ombre pleated skirt with the jacket.
Team Ireland x LW Pearl by Laura Weber
Irish-born designer Laura Weber, through her brand LW Pearl, was appointed with the task of designing Team Ireland’s opening ceremony outfits. The looks, which aim to reflect a balance between tradition and contemporary trends, incorporate national emblems and embellishments meant to honour the journey of Irish athletes, for whom it is the 100th anniversary of competing in the sporting event. Athletes will sport a double-breasted sporting jacket – women’s in a tuxedo silhouette, men’s being a bomber-track jacket combo – with matching trousers. Custom tennis shoes have been embellished with a shamrock leather charm.
Team India x Tasva
Indian menswear brand Tasva, by Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL) and designer Tarun Tahiliani, was selected to design Team India’s Olympic Opening Ceremony outfits for this year’s Paris event. Brand head of Tasva, Ashish Mukul, said the pieces demonstrated a commitment to “crafting timeless, exquisite garments that reflect national pride and cultural heritage”. Team India will be wearing pieces made of “natural fabrics”, combining the country’s heritage with modern tastes, intending to elicit feelings of pride and solidarity.
Team Italy x Armani
Italy turned to none other than Armani for its own kit, which had already unveiled the looks during the Emporio Armani Men’s SS24 show earlier this year, where 12 Olympic and Paralympic athletes graced the runway in their outfits. While this collection, consisting of polo shirts, T-shirts and tracksuits, will be utilised by the athletes during various sporting occasions over the next few weeks, the team’s Opening Ceremony looks are to also be designed by Giorgio Armani himself and will be unveiled later tonight.
Team Switzerland x On Running x Ochsner Sport
Partners of the National Olympic Committee of Switzerland, Swiss sports providers Ochsner Sport and On were appointed the task of creating looks for the country’s entire team and its own fans. The total 24 pieces can be combined and split into four categories, one of which includes the Opening Ceremony looks, the gradient colourings of which are inspired by the 26 cantons’ coats of arms. The pieces were designed and developed at the On Labs in Zurich, where innovative and largely undyed materials were put to use to make the garments “as sustainable as possible”. The Ceremony Jacket, for example, is made of fibres developed using recycled plastic from the Limmat river.
Team Nigeria x Actively Black
Sportswear label Actively Black was given the task of creating Olympic kits for the over 200 members of Team Nigerian, including both representatives and athletes. Designers Jordan Jackson and Danielle McCoy said that they “evoked the traditional” while reimagining ‘The Market’ as the “conceptual vehicle to showcase the diversity and cultural nuance of Nigerian identity”. The Opening ceremonial looks, for example, incorporate the classic green and white of the country’s flag for a tracksuit made in Funtua cotton, named after the Nigerian state where it is produced. While men will wear a long vest over slim track pants, women will wear a look inspired by the Nigerian buba dress, each look then accessorised with traditional gele and fila hats.
Team Brazil x Riachuelo
Two years ago, Riachuelo, together with the Brazilian Olympic Committee, set about an ambition to bring Team Brazil’s brand into a modernised and innovative positioning. The result of such efforts is to be put on display this year in the form of uniforms made up of flared midi skirts, slim fit trousers and a statement denim jacket, hand-embroidered by artisans from Timbaúda dos Batistas with references to local fauna and flora. The colour palette further alludes to the shades of the Brazilian flag – green, blue and yellow – which are present in most of the pieces.
Team Netherlands x Denham
Jeanmaker Denham was named the official fashion partner of TeamNL and thus revealed its Kinetic Denim uniform to be worn by the more than 1,500 Olympians and Paralympians, as well as their entourage. A core element of the design is that of the choice of “exclusive fabric innovations” which have been developed in collaboration with Advance Denim and include technology made to keep the wearer cool, including Coolmax thermoregulation and aerogel yarns. These have been applied to classic workwear silhouettes of denim jackets, trousers and T-shirts – which are made using SeaCell and SmartCell materials.
Team Spain x Joma
Joma’s Opening Ceremony looks for Team Spain pay tribute to the country’s national colours, with much of the inspiration also deriving from local folklore. Akin to the Netherlands, there is a particular emphasis on the materials used, with Joma noting that it incorporated 100 percent recycled fabrics and followed chemical-free processes to make the looks. The male outfit includes a red blazer, technical polo shirt and recycled cotton trousers, which are then swapped out for a pleated skirt in gradient colours for the women’s look.
Team Czech Republic x Alpine Sport x Jan Černý
The idea behind Team Czech Republic’s Opening Ceremony attire was to catch the attention of viewers in an expressive way, making use of the limited time for which the athletes will be on screen. This is according to the designer of the outfits, Jan Černý, who worked with Alpine Pro on the selection of eye-catching garments. The most striking element is the trench coat adorned with a blue ink Rorschach pattern that refers to the work of local graphic artist Vladimír Boudník, who was born in 1924, the last year the Olympics were held in Paris. A polo shirt and trousers in historical Czech colourways make up the rest of the outfit and contrast pea green scarf, socks and sneakers.
Team Korea x Musinsa Standard
Casual wear brand Musinsa Standard created a “belted suit set up” for Team Korea this year, the blue on which aims to symbolise the east while representing “youthful vigour and an enterprising spirit”. A “summer ready” wool was put to use for the suit itself, keeping in mind the temperatures in Paris, while an imprinted ‘Team Korea’ logo can be found inside the blazer, T-shirt, slacks and sneaker insoles in a further effort to express the identity of the athletes.