Canada's Olympic team is gunning for a wow factor in the Paris Games lineup
Written by Steve Keating
TORONTO (Reuters) – Team Canada has unveiled the uniform its athletes will wear at this year's Paris Olympics, a high-tech design that focuses on thermal comfort while honoring the country's indigenous heritage.
In designing its first Summer Games collection, Lululemon said it relied heavily on product testing and feedback from 19 Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes across 14 different sports, including gold medal hopefuls such as tennis player Layla Fernandez and decathlete Damian Warner, And swimmer Summer McIntosh.
The top concerns for athletes were to have clothing that would perform well in the heat and humidity of Paris followed by fit and function. The games are scheduled to be held from July 26 to August 11.
“Most of the time, they like the designs we designed for them,” Sun Choi, chief product officer at Lululemon, told Reuters. “The story behind the prints we create is very original and intentional.
“But their concerns were mostly about how to solve the problem of how hot it is, and how different temperatures are at night, indoors or outdoors, so we wanted to make sure we took those things into account.
“We've heard from athletes that comfort is key to being in the right headspace throughout their games day.”
After Hudson's Bay takes over Canada's Olympic and Paralympic apparel business from the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Paris will be the Canadian sports and leisure apparel giant's first attempt at a summer collection that includes clothing for the opening and closing ceremonies, medal ceremonies and another for weddings. Media appearance.
The clothing that athletes will actually compete in is determined by each sport's national governing body.
As a Vancouver-based company creating a kit for the Canadian Olympic team, Choi said another key to the design was tapping into the country's culture and iconic imagery from a maple leaf to killer whales.
The print used on the closing ceremony uniform was designed in collaboration with First Nation artist Mason Mashon and is inspired by the Northern Lights.
Lululemon has also designed future heritage items including ball caps, scarves and belt bags of which 10% of all sales will go to the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Foundation.
“Pride of the nation and national pride, whatever is designed with our official partners, is very important that it represents Canada, and what we want to see represented at the Olympic and Paralympic Games and I think they've done a fantastic job,” Canadian Olympic Committee CEO David Shoemaker told Reuters. “The future heritage items are obviously very important because 10% of them will be worth millions of dollars.”
(Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto. Editing by Toby Davis)
