10 Standout Moments – WWD
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics have officially started with Friday’s opening ceremony, which brought together 84 participating countries and created several standout fashion moments.
Several countries made an impact during the parade of nations in their official uniforms, many of which were designed by major brands or designers. As is tradition, Ralph Lauren created the looks for Team USA, dressing the athletes in patriotic winterwear, while Giorgio Armani dressed Team Italy quite literally in the country’s flag.
For the performances, London College of Fashion graduate Chen Peng created many of the costumes, taking inspiration from Chinese culture and nature.
Here, WWD looks at 10 standout fashion moments from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony. Read on for more.
Team USA
Ralph Lauren returned to design Team USA’s Olympic uniform. For the opening ceremony, the brand stuck with the traditional red, white and blue colorway, dressing the athletes in winter jackets paired with matching trousers, boots, a beanie and face mask. The outfit displayed the Team USA logo, American flag and Lauren’s signature pony logo.
Hockey Team Performance
London College of Fashion graduate Chen Peng designed several looks for the opening ceremony performers. One of the designer’s most standout costumes were worn by the hockey team performers for the “Display of Five Rings” performance. For their looks, Peng combined hockey with multimedia art with the outfits reflecting lights in an array of colors. Peng was inspired to create the costumes from Chinese ice lanterns and ice sculptures.
“Spring Awakening” Performance
Peng also designed the costumes for the “Spring Awakening” performance, which was inspired by China’s 24 solar terms. The costume was worn by 450 pole lifters who mimicked the effect of spring buds coming out of the ground in their green gradient jumpsuits.
Team Canada
After going with a denim look at the Tokyo Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Team Canada switched to an all-red look for the Beijing Olympics courtesy of the team’s new partnership with Lululemon. The team complemented their red puffer coats with matching scarves that read “Canada.”
Team Great Britain
Ben Sherman continued its partnership with Team Great Britain for the Beijing Olympics, dressing the athletes for the opening ceremony in a sweater baring the Union Jack under a navy coat.
Nathan Crumpton
Olympics fans have become accustomed to Tongan athlete Pita Taufatofua’s oiled and shirtless presence at the past few games, however the Beijing games introduced a new athlete that took the spotlight. Nathan Crumpton, who carried the flag for American Samoa, walked during the opening ceremony wearing the territory’s cultural clothing, shirtless and seemingly oiled up.
Team Italy
After designing a polarizing opening ceremony look for the Tokyo Olympics, Giorgio Armani switched things up for the Beijing Olympics. The designer took inspiration from the Italian flag literally, dressing the athletes in a green, white and red cape.
Snowflake Dancers
Snowflakes were a major theme for the Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony. The theme was seen on a group of dancers who wore a white-to-blue gradient dress embellished with the snowflake motif.
Team South Korea
The North Face created the looks for Team South Korea, dressing the athletes in jackets that took inspiration from the Taebaek Mountains in the country.
Team Australia
Team Australia had a camouflage moment at the opening ceremony, wearing a green camo-print puffer coat, green trousers and a yellow beanie designed by Karbon.
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