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Tokyo 2020 Torchbearers Light The Way With Uniforms Made From Plastic Bottles
By Ell Ko, 20 Jul 2021
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Image via The Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games
Recycled cardboard beds and podiums 3D-printed from donated plastics aside, torchbearers carrying the Tokyo 2020 Olympic flame at the Games’ torch relay from Fukushima to Tokyo are donning uniforms made from recycled plastic bottles.
The event’s white and red shirts and trousers are designed around the theme ‘Hope Lights Our Way’. Design director Daisuke Obana collaborated with Coca-Cola, which collected used plastic bottles, to create the relay uniforms. This ties in nicely with the Games’ sustainability concept, set as “Be better, together - For the planet and the people.”
“The path of hope weaved by each Torchbearer is lit up by the Olympic flame and marks the way to the upcoming Games,” writes the Olympics Association. “This is expressed in the design which originates in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay symbol positioned in the center of the chest and connects to the ‘Look of the Games’ ichimatsu moyo chequered pattern featured prominently on the back.”
The diagonal red sash integrated into the uniform’s design refers to ancient Japanese Shinto rituals and is also worn during relays in Japan, making it a perfectly-fitting addition to the Olympics attire today. The design team hopes that this uniform “incorporates respect for the Torch Relay and hopes for the success of the Games.”
Image via The Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games
[via Dezeen, images via The Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games]
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