THE FIELD GREY UNIFORM OLYMPICS 2012
In a mere 14 days’ time designers from across the globe will wait with bated breath as their clothes go down the catwalk in front of millions of spectators – at the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony. We at Field Grey have compiled a shortlist of those Olympic uniforms we feel are worthy of a place on the podium (as well as those that should have perhaps stayed in the dressing room).
GOLD MEDAL: Jamaica
A deserving recipient of our gold medal, the Jamaican 2012 Olympic team uniforms were designed by Cedella Marley (Bob Marley’s daughter and designer behind clothing label Catch A Fire) in collaboration with PUMA. We are LOVING the quintessentially Jamaican result, especially the pairing of the vibrant Jamaican national colours with the sleek and tailored outline (the tie just screams ‘I’m the boss’). Special kudos has to go to the women’s printed leggings for their confidently flamboyant pattern and general difficult-to-wear-ability. Unsurprisingly 100m-world record holder/most famous athlete on the planet Usain Bolt was roped in to model the uniform – and did so in his own typically understated way.
Fans of PUMA/Jamaica/a cracking good time should investigate PUMA YARD, 17 days (and nights) of Jamaica-themed events in east London featuring jerk-chicken eating contests alongside music from big names like Professor Green, Gyptian and Groove Armada. Athletic superstar Usain Bolt will be putting in an appearance as well as designer of the Field Grey gold medal winning Olympic uniform Cedella Marley herself. All of the events are free and Field Grey are going. What more encouragement do you need?
https://www.puma.com/news/17-days-and-nights-and-then-some
SILVER MEDAL: The USA
Unavoidably the USA pulled out the big guns for their assault on Olympic 2012 fashion, with their uniforms designed by the one and only Ralph Lauren. The resulting uniform is just (just) the right side of all-American wholesomeness, with those squeaky-clean girls and boys from next door decked out in white trousers (pants) and classic polos in a choice of (wait for it) blue, white or red. The ankle-skimming trousers lend the downtime uniform classic Ralph Lauren preppy elegance and the matching belts really tie the team together. Although admittedly a little on the safe side the uniform is still totally wearable and totally appropriate for London 2012 – go team!
ALSO Nike claim that their superhero-style uniforms for the USA’s track and field athletes are capable of shaving up to 0.023 seconds off 100m sprint times because of their fancy ‘golf-ball’ dimpled surfaces. Find out more about this super technology/magic here:
BRONZE MEDAL: South Korea
South Korea’s super sharp and super cute uniform is an underrated success amongst 2012’s Olympic offerings. A modern re imagining of the Korean kit for the 1948 London Olympics the uniform is pretty nautical, but in a good way. The Breton striped tops teamed with the gold-buttoned blazers (double-breasted for the ladies) gives the uniform a classically sporty feel while somehow managing to narrowly avoid looking like sailor fancy dress. We particularly love the cheeky glimpse of patterned golf sock against the conservative white trousers – and so do the athletes judging by their lovely smiley faces. Of course, their smiles could equally be down to their jaunty fedoras or sleek man bags (which apparently can also be used as a clutch) – to both of these brave accessories we say bravo.
DRESSING ROOM: Spain
You can always tell that something’s not quite right when you can’t get a real life person to model your national uniform. Spain inexplicably outsourced their uniform design to Russia and Russia responded with this. Nice. Incidentally, Russia’s 2012 uniform is actually okay.
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