Lululemon Designs Versatile 2022 Winter Olympic Uniforms For Team Canada
Image via Canadian Olympic Committee
Lumberjack, but make it fashion. Lululemon, an athletic wear label that’s gained predominance in recent years, has unveiled its modern interpretations of the Olympic and Paralympic kits ahead of the Beijing 2022 Games. These are the first uniforms to spring up from a multi-year partnership between Team Canada and the homegrown brand.
Drawing from its experience with trendy consumers and their desire for comfort, Lululemon created a customizable modular system with over 30 flexible pieces to keep athletes warm or liberate movement, depending on their needs, Fast Company details.
Image via Canadian Olympic Committee
The garments are designed to be layered, or zipped up to form other structures, at any given moment to offer creative control and physical freedom.
Image via Canadian Olympic Committee
Image via Canadian Olympic Committee
These include an insulated vest with two more modifications for length, and jackets that open up for ventilation, according to Fast Company.
“Every athlete has a unique response to their environment and what fabrics are next to their skin,” explained Audrey Reilly, Lululemon’s creative director of special projects who also spearheaded the creation of the Team Canada uniforms. The firm calls this individualism “thermal identity.”
To find out the athletes’ personal heat comfort, Lululemon spent 18 months working with them, collecting insights on how each handles the cold. The designers themselves worked out in cold rooms to learn how body temperatures change in sub-zero temperatures.
The opening ceremony uniforms aim to depart from the stiff look of military-style outfits. They’re adaptable for style and “personal thermal comfort,” all while maintaining cohesion.
Most pieces are imbued in five different shades of red as a nod to the Canadian flag, and a number of them are even bedecked in a print depicting the microscopic view of the maple leaf. Not to mention, Team Canada will be wearing sporty versions of the traditional trapper hat.
Meanwhile, the closing ceremony outfits are splashed in ivory.
Image via Canadian Olympic Committee
Image via Canadian Olympic Committee
For the first time ever, Lululemon also dipped its toes into footwear design, creating red and ivory hiking boots to honor the county’s affinity with forests.
Image via Canadian Olympic Committee
A smaller set of the Olympic kit has now been stocked in Lululemon’s Canada stores, with more pieces scheduled to be released closer to the Winter Games. The US stores will carry similar looks, but sans Canada branding.
Image via Canadian Olympic Committee
Image via Canadian Olympic Committee
Image via Canadian Olympic Committee
Image via Canadian Olympic Committee
Image via Canadian Olympic Committee
Image via Canadian Olympic Committee
[via Fast Company, images via Canadian Olympic Committee]
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