Uniforms! Uniforms! Uniforms!

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Why we love the Winter Olympics

You can tell a nationality by their clothes.  We all do it on holiday: “They’re English,” we mutter to our travelling companion. “That top’s Marks and Spencer’s.”

So it is with interest that we are observing the Winter Olympics, and that’s not just because we have an affinity with the bob sleigh team (we don’t).  It’s because there are uniforms everywhere. There are uniforms for the opening and closing ceremonies, uniforms for the volunteers, uniforms for the support staff, and, of course, uniforms for the athletes themselves. How exciting!

 Producing a country’s uniform is a mammoth design challenge, as the basic design concept has to follow through on practical level to a range of disciplines, from the skin-tight catsuits sported by the speed skaters, to the more wafty creations worn by the ice dancers.

Stella McCartney, designer of team GB uniforms for the 2012 Summer Olympics, observed that her creativity was put to the test when she had the massive challenge to distil the essence of her vision and recreate it on to Tom Daley’s teeny weeny diving trunks.

Our professional fascination with this lies in the familiarity of this journey. When Fashionizer is  called in to design the staff apparel for a hotel or restaurant, we have first to capture the spirit of the brand. The next step is to apply the look and feel across the diversity of the required areas, from reception to waiting staff and housekeeping. At the same time, we have to ensure that the fabric and style are fit for purpose.

Back to Sochi, some countries have made a thing out of choosing a high-profile designer or a big brand sports name for their uniforms – the USA have gone for Ralph Lauren, while the French have chosen Lacoste. Team GB have gone for the Adidas-designed (sponsored?) practical option, with their specially constructed heat pants.

If comparison is your thing, check out this link to some of the more, erm, flamboyant outfits.

But as far as we are concerned, there is one big PR winner: The Norwegian Olympic Curling Team’s outfits have captured the imagination so much that their pants have their own Facebook page . Half a million followers can’t be wrong…

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[…] It’s the festive season so we are in the mood for giving. We could easily go for one of our own uniforms and could make an excellent case for quite a number of them. But when a uniform not only has its own Facebook page but also has more than half a million “Likes”, we have to hold our hands up and surrender. So let’s hear it for the Norwegian Olympic Curling Team’s pants. […]

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[…] enjoyed our look at the uniforms at the Winter Olympics this year, so we’ll be heading to Rio (not literally, sadly) to have a look at the triumphs and […]