Your first look at the new Canadian Olympic uniforms (spoiler: they’re good)

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/10/2021 (1806 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic uniform designs were released today from Lululemon, the new official outfitter for Team Canada. The partnership with the COC and CPC with the Vancouver-based technical athletic gear company — which first became known for its yoga pants — was announced last month. Lululemon took the reins from Hudson’s Bay, which had designed the uniforms since 2006 (except for 2016, when DSquared did the honours). Lululemon’s Olympics term begins with the 2022 Beijing Winter Games and ends with the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

The first official athlete’s uniforms of the partnership — for the opening ceremonies, Podium, Media and closing ceremonies — were developed in consultation with Lululemon’s roster of Olympic and Paralympic athletes. The emphasis, says Chantelle Murnaghan, Lululemon’s vice-president of science and feel, is function first, rooted in a philosophy of human-led design for all body types and all abilities. The items were tested for winter conditions at the brand’s Vancouver “climate chamber,” a room that simulates real-world conditions (Beijing, for example, could vary between -10 Celsius and +10 Celsius at the time of the Games in February 2022).

Since the Olympics represent some of the biggest moments in an athlete’s life, the psychological realities of elite competition also informed the clothes. “We did insight sessions with the athletes and focused on the athlete’s journey [during the Games] and their mindset at critical moments,” says Murnaghan. Athletes spoke about nerves at the opening ceremonies, the elation and surreal moments culminating on the podium, and the celebratory nature of the closing ceremonies.

The series of designs reflect these journeys. “Each person’s thermal identity is unique,” says Murnaghan, referring to how we each perceive and tolerate heat and chill individually. All the items can be customized: hoods zip off parkas and vests can be shortened with leftover bits turned into quilted scarves (even travel pillows!). Mitts are on strings and the gender-neutral bags can be clipped on to other bags, onto the waist, worn around the neck or slung across the body. “There is a sense of individuality,” says Audrey Reilly, Lululemon’s creative director of special projects, who describes the outfits as a dynamic dressing system. “The athletes are going to be able to make the outfits their own while looking like a unified team.”

Colour is what ties the uniforms together, with richness coming from pattern and texture. The Opening Ceremony uniforms are in shades of red, with patterns taken from microscopic views of the maple leaf.

“Living in Canada, you see maple leaves change state all the time,” says Reilly. “We were interested in that metamorphic state. When we looked at it under a microscope, that is what the print is made up of, zoomed in on that.” The maple leaf is seen in a more textured state in the knitwear of the media outfits. The focus for the designers there was “all about protecting our athletes,” says Reilly, noting that brighter shades of reds were used for that outfit.

The reds range from burgundy to bright red, in five carefully chosen shades, with the classic “sports red” being the neutral middle of the spectrum. “Red has been used by many, many sport teams, and it’s the official colour of many other countries,” says Reilly, who wanted Canada’s “drenched” red tones to stand out. The Closing Ceremony uniforms are all in shades of winter white, a range of five ivory tones, ranging from a green-tinged linen ivory to antique ivory rather than strict optic white.

Reilly says the design team also looked to the past, reviewing the past 60 years of official Team Canada uniforms, as well as those of other countries. Reilly said they were particularly inspired by traditional trapper’s hats, the arctic parkas so synonymous with this country, and the groovy onesie ski suits of the ’60s and ’70s. “We tapped into the attitude there,” she says.

As much as the past matters, Reilly and her team are firmly focused on the future. The design attributes will continue to evolve, based on the specific needs of the Games, including climate. Still, red, white and maples leaves will likely always be the visual way to connect back to Canada. Reilly says the through-line that matters most, however, is less sartorial and more emotional: “What’s most important is the pride athletes feel when representing this country.”

The Lululemon pieces will be available for purchase by the public, with the Opening Ceremony outerwear, the Media knit items and the Team Canada guest items being released first, available to buy today online and tomorrow for sale in stores. (The Podium and closing ceremonies items will go on sale over time.)

WHAT THE ATHLETES ARE SAYING

We asked two Team Canada athletes and Lululemon ambassadors to share their thoughts on their new Olympic uniforms.

Dawn Richardson Wilson, bobsleigh athlete and Lululemon ambassador

“I’m a Team Canada athlete currently training in the Yanqing District in Beijing, China. When I’m not on the road for the competitive season, I spend the majority of my time training in Edmonton and Calgary. I started bobsleigh in the fall of 2018 after just completing my first year at university.

Being in a winter-based sport, I definitely do take into consideration that the weather is very unpredictable and that temperatures could drop drastically. I highly recommend having more layers than less! I believe that Lululemon brought to life something that I feel very passionate about, which is being comfortable in your own skin. The Team Canada outfits do just that by giving the athletes an abundance of warm layers that they can customize to showcase their strength and to highlight personalities. One thing is for sure: Although we may choose to express ourselves differently, we are all one. We are Team Canada.”

Cindy Ouellet, Paralympic basketball and Paralympic Nordic ski athlete and Lululemon ambassador

“I’m at home in Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier, Quebec. I am lucky to have a home gym, which is equipped with everything I need both for my basketball training and my Para nordic training. To be able to fully focus on the Games, I put my doctoral degree in biomedical engineering on hold this past two years but I have every intention of completing it next year.

It was awesome that Lululemon reached out to athletes for the design. Being a Para athlete in a chair, sometimes uniforms don’t always fit. Lululemon wanted to make sure that, for example, the white colours would be at the right place to not get dirty with the chairs’ wheels. They had the same consideration with zipper placement and pockets. For a seated athlete, zippers can cause discomfort when you sit on them; some pockets are wrongly placed at times so when you push your thumbs get caught in them. With opening ceremonies, we usually are seated for quite a long time, so we always want a nice warm jacket, warm boots, and a good first layer, a warm hat and some mitts. As an athlete, you always want a kit that has many pieces so you can wear outdoor clothing and indoor clothing and always be comfortable.”

Leanne Delap is a Toronto-based freelance contributor for the Star and The Kit, where she writes the weekly Ask The Kit column. Reach her via email: leannedelap@hotmail.com