Olympic Fashion

2012 is a big year.

Soon enough Olympic memorabilia is bound to be clogging up the streets of London; with mugs, banners and most definitely the odd pencil being sold to celebrate British culture and indeed British talent.

So what does this mean in terms of fashion?

Well, after watching a debate on 'Loose Women' the other day, it seems that the Olympics isn't just about sport. Indeed fashion seems to be highly important, with the newly designed and controversial Olympic sportswear causing havoc in the 'Loose Women' studio I felt I should join in the debate.

The Team GB Olympic kit has this year been designed by Stella McCartney. Having collaborated with Adidas since 2004, she must have a lot of experience in this field of fashion. This is evident in her choice of materials/shapes for the collection which are suited to athletes who need to be flexible and streamline, clearly showing how she knows what she's doing.

The collection worn by 30 Olympic athletes was unveiled at a show at the Tower of London on Thursday (23rd March), sticking true to the British theme.

"It's hard to pick what sport I'd like to see the most," she said. "When you've worked so closely with each discipline, it makes it difficult. I'd really like to see the cyclists though - I spent a lot of time at the Velodrome in Manchester. But then, I'd love to see the Paralympics too. Whether it's on the television or in person, I'm excited about seeing all of it."

However there is controversy in the design of the kits. People feel that Stella has changed the design of the Union Jack too much that people can't even tell what country this kit represents. Indeed she has stuck to the conventional British colour scheme of red, white and blue, however people feel this is not enough. 

Personally, I understand why people feel this way. Whilst I quite like the red trim, I believe the Union Jack is such a big part of British culture and I don't really understand why the flag needed to be changed at all. I think (using the example from above left) the kit looks more like it's representing 'The X Factor' as opposed to the Olympics with the massive 'X' splashed across the front. If they didn't have the 'Great Britain' signed across the front people may not know who they are representing at all. 

There are many countries which have the same colours in their flags as we do, and I feel that (for once) the event should be more focused about our culture and heritage as opposed to our fashion.

Despite this I still love Stella McCartney and will remain a fan, and think her efforts (whether people think they work or not) should still be applauded. 

So the countdown to the Olympics begins!