The Australian Winter Olympic team launched their uniforms for Vancouver 2010 earlier this week, and I have to say I am not really enamored with it.
Apparently they have a distinct feel of the Australian Alps and are inspired by the colours of our native gum tree. Our traditional sporting colours are green and gold, and this uniform is supposedly a modern take on that.
The formal uniform is a wool suit made from 100% Australian merino wool and it's lined with gold trim - a nod to the Olympic dream. The belt buckle is embossed with the Australian Olympic Winter Team logo. And to ward off the winter chill there is an overcoat that has a military look, which is all the rage in the fashion world right now (cause I know all about fashion, not). It's all a bit dull and bland looking.
The delegation uniform is oatmeal coloured pants, and a gum leaf green waterproof jacket with gold trim. It's an earthy Australian bush look. I'll take their word for it.
I'm not the only one who is not a fan. It has been described as dowdy, corporate, and bloody ugly.
And look closely and the uniform from Beijing 2008, it's not all that different.
Why green and gold? Our Aussie flag is red, white and blue. Just like the UK, the USA, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Russia, France, New Zealand, Peru, Costa Rica, most Pacific Islands, just to name a few. So the green and gold have been our sporting colours since the late 1800's. The green represents the forests, gum trees and pastures of our landscape; the gold represents our beaches, mineral wealth, grain harvests and fleece of the Australian wool. In 1984 the green and gold were formally recognised as our national colours.
And for my colleagues at work.....(from the Government website)
Australians are unrestricted in their use of the national colours. Green and gold may be used in any design or arrangement of colour, emphasising the green or gold. To use them correctly, the two colours are placed together, unbroken by another colour. The colour references are: