Giorgio Armani returns as outfitter of Italian Olympic and Paralympic teams for the 2018 Winter Games
The Italian Olympic and Paralympic teams will be wearing Armani-designed uniforms at the upcoming Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, marking the fourth consecutive set of Olympic contests for which the Milan-based label has been the official outfitter of the teams.
The company announced Monday that Team Italy will be clad in sportswear from its EA7 label “in their free time and on official occasions,” and described the color scheme of the uniforms as “midnight blue with Italian-flag-colour details.”
The uniform is built around a stylish looking technical-fabric ski tracksuit (pictured above) and includes a long down coat, several layering pieces (think polos, T-ahirts and sweatshirts) and such accessories as gloves, hats, scarves, boot backpacks and luggage trolleys.
There’s also a hidden detail you probably won’t see from afar: the first verse of the Italian national anthem printed in gold script inside the jackets and sweatshirts as well as on the collars of the polo shirts in such a way that the words are visible only when the collars are turned up. (As a preppie at heart, we have to applaud the popped collar as a symbol of national pride.)
The unveiling of the Armani’s EA7 Olympic and Paralympic team kit follows recent uniform reveals by Burton (which created astronaut-inspired outfits for the U.S. snowboard team) and Ralph Lauren (which has taken the wraps off its retro-looking Team USA closing-ceremony looks) in the run-up to the Games, which are scheduled to begin Feb. 9.
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