On Friday, Paris once found itself at the heart of the fashion world. Athletes from all over the world took part in the classic parade of countries loaded onto ships float down the Seine River, in contrast to the special occasions of Paris Fashion Week.
Each country wore custom-designed clothes to promote their nation’s tradition to the world. Some governments rose to the challenge delightfully. People left us wondering if the clothing officers had, like the rest of France, gone on strike.
Here’s a rating of the 10 most remarkable garments from the service.
1. Mongolia
Designed by authority combo sisters Michel and Amazonka Choigaalaa, Team Mongolia’s opening ceremony dress days before the start of Paris 2024, and with great cause. Mongolia’s uniform, which was based on a traditional Mongolian deel, was a perfect blend of sleek, delicate, and fierce with intricately embroidered vests with beautiful odes to the nation’s heritage. Before the first medal event of the Games, it’s safe to say that Mongolia has already won gold.
2024 Olympic medals:
2. Haiti
Designed by Haitian-Italian designer Stella Jean, the Haitian delegation meant business with their attire. The skirts and pants, based on the artwork of Haitian painter Philippe Dodard, stole the show.
3. Mexico
Mexico demonstrated how to seamlessly meld cultural traditions with contemporary design ( some of the nations should take note later in this list ). The team wore white street-style jackets with black symbols and patterns to pay homage to some of Mexico’s most recognizable cities.
4. Egypt
The Egyptian delegation removed all-white suits made of Egyptian cotton, complete with a trim in the colors of the Egyptian flag to give a sophisticated, elegant appearance.
5. The Netherlands
Similar to Mexico, the Netherlands wore a chic white jacket with orange accents that made for a stylish change from the typically neon tracksuits the Dutch team (yes, there is such a thing as too much orange, even for a team known as the Oranje ).
6. Great Britain
Designed by Ben Sherman, Team GB wore white and navy bomber jackets with shirts adorned with a pattern of a rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock to represent the national flowers of the nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
It was a nice touch, but perhaps ironic for a team that was unable to agree upon a way to compete in the men’s soccer tournament as a unified Team GB.
Overall, the outfits weren’t very bold, but ( as evidenced by the rest of this list ), bold does not always equal better.
7. Australia
This was an Olympic ceremony, not a golf tournament… or tennis match… or? The traditional Aussie color scheme, which featured green and gold, was effective, but many female athletes ‘ pleated skirts fell short.
8. USA
Designed by Ralph Lauren, Team USA sported a striped blouse, navy blazer and blue jeans. The outfits could have been worse, but they should have been appropriate for a team competing for the top spot on the medal table rather than a dress-down day at a Connecticut boarding school. Is it really possible to show the world how much American culture can be best portrayed through a navy blazer and jeans?
9. France
The host country had the opportunity to demonstrate to the on-lookers why France should be regarded as the world’s fashion capital. After the French team showed up wearing navy suits that closely resembled a stock photo of a flight attendant uniform, Milan is undoubtedly not going to sweat.
10. The Czech Republic
If you’ve ever wondered if there’s such a thing as too much pattern, the Czech Republic’s uniform answered that question with a resounding yes. athletes wore red, white, and blue gradient polo shirts in homage to the Czech flag, which were overshadowed by oversized trench coats with a blue splattered ink design that stunned ( but not in a good way ).