The Phryges (pronounced “FREE-jes”) – the mascot of the Paris 2024 Olympics and the Paralympics mascot with a running blade. (Image credit: paralympic.org)
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games begin August 28 and end September 8. They will include more than 4,400 athletes from around the world, competing in 549 medal events and showcasing 22 individual and team sports. In this week’s blog, we will explore some of the uniform kits that the athletes will be wearing, the adaptive design details that have been incorporated into the designs and the brands that designed them. But first, a little background into the mascot and the history of the Paralympics.
Men wearing Phryges caps- the mascot of the Paris 2024 Paralympics (Image credit: (cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2024/08/07/phryges-olympics-paris-mascot-hats-inclusivity/)
The mascot for the Paris 2024 Paralympics is a small, red stuffed animal with big blue eyes and eyelashes, and is based on the famous Phrygian cap, a symbol of liberté during the French Revolution (58 Olympiads ago). The Paralympic mascot has a running blade, to represent athletes with disabilities, promoting inclusivity and the values of the Paralympic Games.
Paralympics History
Did you know that the word “paralympic” derives from the Greek preposition “para” (beside or alongside) and the word “Olympic”? In 1948, at the Opening Ceremony of the London 1948 Olympic Games, Dr. Ludwig Guttman (known as the father of the paralympic movement) organized the first Stoke Mandeville Games for disabled war veterans, all with spinal cord injuries who competed in wheelchairs. The Stoke Mandeville Games later became the Paralympic Games, which officially took place in Rome in 1960, featuring 400 athletes from 23 countries. In case you wondered what is the difference between the Paralymics and the Special Olympics, the Paralympics focuses on individuals with physical disabilities, while the Special Olympics specifically showcases those with intellectual disabilities. However, both groups compete every four years.
Australian Paralympic Team
The Australian Paralympic 2024 ceremonial uniforms designed by Australian apparel & footwear brand R.M. Williams (Image credit: Ragtrader.com)
Subscribers and followers of University of Fashion already know that we have recently launched a 5-part Adaptive Fashion Design series, created by Tracy Vollbrecht, an adaptive fashion designer/consultants for many brands in the adaptive fashion marketplace. So it made sense that I would ask Tracy to join me in covering the Paralympic uniforms kits designed for athletes competing at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Starting with the Australian Paralympic team, Tracy and I were happy to learn that the athletes got to collaborate in the design process with Australian apparel & footwear brand R.M. Williams. This marks the eighth consecutive partnership for which the R.M.Williams has supplied uniforms, following successful collaborations for the Australian Paralympic teams at every Summer and Winter Games since Vancouver 2010.
With accessibility a key component of adaptive performance clothing, elasticated waistbands were added to the shorts and chinos. The uniforms also include accessibility features such as push studs in place of buttons, allowing the wearer to button up or down with minimal contact. Their sneakers include a zip closure in place of laces, and magnetic poppers in place of a zipper on jackets for functional ease.
The athletes’ t-shirts incorporate artwork by indigenous artist Rheanna Lotter, a proud Yuin woman and founder of the aboriginal art collective Ngandabaa. Her artwork has been featured in every Paralympic uniform since 2016. The t-shirt design features eight circles representing the Australian states and territories, tracks to represent the connection between the Paralympians, and boomerangs to represent challenges overcome in the journey to the games. The athletes will be wearing these uniforms to both the opening and closing ceremonies.
Adidas Collaborates with Several Paralymic Teams
Adidas’ adaptive basketball uniforms, tailored specifically for wheelchair and seated athletes, were created in collaboration with Adaptive Sports Northwest (ASNW), a Portland-based non-profit for adaptive athletics (Image credit: Adidas.com)
Adidas, has been outfitting global athletes in various sports for years. Prior to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the brand’s designers and engineers spent two years working collaboratively with the best in the game to ensure an athlete-first fit, including Adaptive Sports Northwest (ASNW), a Portland-based non-profit for adaptive athletics, ParalympicsGB, Team D Paralympics, Brooklyn Nets and wheelchair basketball teams in Germany. For the Paris 2024 Paralympics they outfitted the following teams: Great Britain, Germany, Poland, Cuba, Turkey Philippines and Ireland.
Great News: Adidas announced that they have made some of the adaptive pieces available to consumers to purchase.
Adidas applies universal design to official teamwear (Image credit: news.adidas.com)
Adidas announced that 81% of pieces of apparel worn on and off the field of play have been created using universal design principles (designs that work for athletes with and without a disability), however, there were certain design considerations that were specific to Paralympic athletes. According to Adidas those details included: “the smart placement and/or inclusion of seams, avoiding light colors on the cuffs of performance wear to optimize aesthetics following dirt transfer from wheels, using soft threading where possible, moving team iconography from covered areas – such as the lower back – to those that are visible while seated, changing trims to be adaptive-first to work around limited movement, removal of any complicated fastenings including small buttons or zips, and offering zipped ankle cuffs for ease of dressing for those with limb difference, and opening a wider range of product lengths for athletes of different heights.”
Other keys to designing adaptive sports fashion is how well the garment fits, how it makes the athlete feel, and how functional it is to get on or off? Adidas applied these considerations with their “shaped workout t-shirt and pant via thoughtful construction that maps key areas of irritation with reduced seams and soft threading to help minimize interactivity with skin. The pieces are optimized for those who are training to compete in seated sports – such as rowing and volleyball and sports played in a wheelchair, like basketball. They’re crafted from materials carefully selected from wider training collections for their stretch properties for freedom of movement, durability when interacting with supportive equipment and comfort against the skin. These are applied in key areas including extra soft materials on the waistband of the pant, and use of soft seam tapes to reduce skin irritation. Mesh fabrication in t-shirts complete the design to ensure breathability in key areas where body and wheelchair connect.”
Lululemon for Team Canada
Lululemon Team Canada Summer Athlete Kit for Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Image credits: Photo by Scott Ramsay for Lululemon)
This marks the second time the Canadian brand has dressed its home country’s Olympic and Paralympic teams, but the first time it is creating athlete kits for warm weather. To understand each athlete’s unique physical and mental needs during the Games, and in the spirt of collaboration, the Lululemon design team included their athletes in the design process. This resulted in product testing and feedback sessions with 19 Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes across 14 different sports
Lululemon’s kits are a blend of function and style that incorporate innovative construction and performance fabrics, featuring ultra-lightweight and stretch fabrics, as well as thermal comfort with SenseKnit technology and sweat-wicking fabrics to enhance breathability through ventilation. They’ve incorporated customizable drawcords, newly engineered pocket shapes and placements, magnetic-close zippers, pull-on loops, and sensory touch guides. The two adaptive styles, the Seated-Fit Carpenter Pant and the Seated-Fit Packable Rain Poncho are intentionally designed to deliver functionality and comfort in a seated position.
Like Adidas, Lululemon they’ve made their adaptive apparel available for the general public to purchase.
Nike for Team USA
Teammates from the Nike Accessibility Center of Excellence, DEI Team, and the Disability Network, previewing Nike’s EasyOn footwear technology at the 2024 Disability:In global conference and expo, the premier corporate accessibility and disability inclusion event of the year. (Image credit: Nike LinkedIn)Well, you’ve probably heard about the backlash at the Olympics against Nike for their women’s ‘s one-piece high cut track & field uniforms that many thought were sexist & skimpy. And, how about how Paralympians who petitioned Nike for not allowing the sale of a single shoe, though Nike uses amputees to advertise their footwear?
Berlin 2018 World Para Athletics European Championships / Marcus Hartmann/GettyImages (Image credit: Underthelaces.com)
Despite all the drama, each member of Team USA received a “Nike Athlete Bag”, containing 50 pieces of apparel, footwear and accessories, including “interview wear” and “village wear”. Nike’s EasyOn footwear innovation, is particularly noteworthy for Paralympians since it eliminates the need for laces and zippers.
For seated athletics and athletes with prosthetic legs, special considerations were made for added function and comfort. The customizations includes a second pocket entry at the thigh, enhanced ventilation, a longer leg vent with a zipper for easy access, an articulated sleeve for improved range and magnetic-base zippers on jackets, which are extremely popular in adaptive apparel. Click here to see the magnetic zipper in action.
To learn more about designing for the Adaptive Market, be sure to view our 5-part Adaptive Fashion series: Introduction to Adaptive Fashion, Disabilities & Adaptive Fashion, Adaptive Fashion Customer & Market Analysis, Developing Adaptive Fashion, Merchandising & Marketing Adaptive Fashion.
