THE London 2012 Olympics begins tonight and looks set to be the most stylish sporting event in history – with designers from all over the world showing their support for their respective countries.
Stella McCartney was the first internationally-renowned name to get into the Olympic spirit, announcing that she was designing the Team GB kit in July 2010 and unveiling the collection in full in March this year. Other labels to back their countries by creating their sports kits include Prada, who has designed kits for the Italian national sailing team; Ralph Lauren who has created the kits for the US, Giorgio Armani who has designed kits for the Italian National Olympic Team and Hermès who has created kits for the French Olympic equestrian team.
And it’s not just the athletes who will be looking stylish this summer: a host of brands have opened pop-up stores in London to celebrate the Games. Victoria’s Secret opened its debut UK store in the Westfield Centre in London’s Stratford this week; H&M opened two sporting-inspired temporary boutiques in Covent Garden and the Westfield Centre in Stratford; Liberty opened its first store outside its iconic Regent Street flagship in May in the Westfield Centre in Stratford; while Opening Ceremony celebrated its debut London retail outlet last week, the same week as Chanel opened its debut UK standalone beauty shop.
It was, however, Karl Lagerfeld who gave the event the ultimate fashion endorsement, launching an Olympic-inspired collection and pop-up store in Selfridges this week. The legendary designer even came to London himself to celebrate the proceedings, posing for pictures with an Olympic torch.