The Olympics have always been a spectacle of entertainment and athleticism: Even the ancient games had an opening ceremony. The only thing missing, however, was designer-made team uniforms. As the modern-day event has transformed the opening celebrations into a global showcase, the designs that grace the stage have become as closely followed as the sporting events themselves.
With increasing pageantry comes increasing grandeur: Every major brand wants to have their name emblazoned across team kits. Setting the summer games in Paris, a worldwide sartorial powerhouse, has only upped the ante. While some teams continue to uphold longstanding partnerships with household names, the 2024 opening ceremony will feature the work of several rising designers making their debut on the Olympic stage—in this case, afloat on the Seine. Some teams have opted to take a note from the fashion capital signature styles, while others have chosen to use this visibility to channel the culture and history of their home countries.
Whether designed by a storied house or independent label, some opening ceremony outfits are going for sartorial gold. Here are 8 brands and designers vying for a win.
Team Haiti by Stella Jean
Haitian-Italian designer Stella Jean partnered with Philippe Dodard, a Haitian artist, to highlight the country’s cultural abundance and perseverance during a sustained period of political turmoil and natural disasters. Dodard’s painting, which explores the “cry of freedom” of Haitians, is patterned across the women’s skirts and men’s pants. Along with these pieces, women will wear a chambray shirt underneath a sleeveless blazer, while men will be outfitted in a field jacket inspired by the traditional guayabera shirt. By manufacturing the chambray shirts in Haiti, Jean revitalizes weaving techniques that are at risk of becoming a lost art while putting money back into the country itself.
Team Nigeria by Actively Black
Actively Black, founded in 2020 by former professional basketball player Lanny Smith, is a growing Black-owned sportswear company headquartered in the US that vows to represent the African diaspora and reinvest in Black communities. As the official kit sponsor of Team Nigeria, the clothing brand has kept Nigerian traditions in mind as athletes will be attired in green and white block prints inspired by the country's flag. Male athletes wear outfits similar to a Nigerian senator suit—a long vest worn on top of track pants—while women wear a take on the classic buba dress. Adding contemporary flair to traditional looks, the designs celebrate Nigeria’s textile practices to strike up national pride.
Team India by Tasva
For the first time, Team India will be wearing designs by an Indian designer: Tarun Tahiliani of the Indian company, Tasva. Tahilian's rising profile—he most recently dressed Kim and Khloe Kardashian for the Ambani wedding—has pushed his designs further into the limelight. Combining traditional sarees for women and kurtas for men with ikat-inspired prints, a frequent motif in many regions of India, Tahiliani evokes India’s tri-color flag with elegance through pairing saffron and green patterns with natural, breathable cotton.
Team Ireland by Laura Weber
Irish-born, New York-based designer Laura Weber is rooting for Team Ireland. Her label, LW Pearl, is outfitting the athletes in white sporting jackets, matching pants, and custom-made tennis shoes for the opening ceremony. Weber maintained a focus on sustainability using fabric developed from recycled T-shirts and bottles. There's a deep sense of Irish pride woven into the uniforms: The looks are emblazoned with shamrocks, and the designer even wove in more local representation with an embroidered patch indicating the home county of each athlete sewn onto the jacket sleeve.
Team USA by Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren has been designing Team USA’s uniforms since 2008, and this year continues the “timeless” trend of dressing athletes in patriotic blazers with a yacht club feel, made all the more perfect for sailing down the Seine. For the opening ceremony, athletes will wear a navy blazer over a striped Oxford shirt and light-wash jeans that are said to capture a quality of “preppy athleisure.” The American house reserved white racer-style jackets with USA patches and white jeans for the ceremony, a look that has some X users commenting that athletes resemble a “NASCAR pit crew” more than Olympic athletes.
Team Philippines by Francis Libiran
Filipino designer Francis Libiran has decided to attire Team Philippines’s athletes in a traditional barong, a long-sleeved dress shirt, with a sling that resembles armor. The sling, which is detachable and made from silk and organdy fabric, evokes sun rays emerging from the red and blue flag of the Philippines. The abstract rays radiate the fierceness of ancient tattooed Pintados warriors in hopes of athletes channeling those same qualities.
Team Canada by Lululemon
Team Canada, attired by Lululemon, will be sporting head-to-toe red for the opening ceremony. Adorned with patterns representative of Canada’s biodiversity and architecture, the look's red bomber jackets were previously tested for climate control and function. For the closing ceremony, however, they've chosen a more celestial vibe by partnering with Indigenous artist Mason Mashon from the Saddle Lake Cree Nation to create a print that evokes the Aurora Borealis.
Team Mongolia by Michel & Amazonka
Team Mongolia’s designs have been an unexpected hit, earning shoutouts on X, TikTok, and Highsnobiety. Created by sister duo Michel and Amazonka, the couture brand designed intricately embroidered vests that are tailored to the athletes’ measurements and paired with traditional calf-length gowns. These garments utilize the Mongolian flag's colors, along with the country's national “Soyombo” symbol. With keen attention to detail, the kits come with earrings and embroidered bags for female athletes and hats, belts, and traditional Mongolian boots for male athletes.
