A symbolic moment as the 2024 Olympics approach, the outfits of the French Olympic and Paralympic team were unveiled on Tuesday, at the headquarters of the French Olympic Sports Committee. More than 1,100 models made to dress and foot nearly 800 athletes in 63 disciplines. The chosen equipment manufacturer, Le Coq Sportif, had to take on a major challenge.
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It was a fashion show in an unusual location on January 16!
Some 150 athletes played apprentice models in the premises of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF) to unveil part of the collection of outfits which will dress the qualifiers for the Games. 150,000 pieces made available for athletes, nearly 220,000 for employees of the organizing committee and officials. A collection entrusted to Le Coq Sportif, an equipment manufacturer long associated with the history of the French Olympic movement, from 1912 to 1972, and which won the call for tenders launched by the COJO in March 2020.
Each qualified athlete will receive a suitcase containing a personalized wardrobe to wear in training, in competition and in performance (in the Olympic Village, on a possible podium and during the closing ceremony). Jerseys, shorts and shoes were available according to the needs of each discipline, but with the same dominant color, an “ecru white” embellished with a gradient of blue-white-red to symbolize the diversity of sports and cultures, explains the designer of the outfits, the Parisian designer Stéphane Ashpool, who surveyed the athletes on their desires. “ Very quickly, there was the desire to recreate a flag and cross-pollinate ithe said. These are new shades that represent France, and to help this colorful support live well, we took this off-white. It’s a shade that can be found in a wedding, and the idea of elegance has come back a lot among athletes. »
80% of production will be carried out in France, in the group’s historic factory in Romilly-sur-Seine, near Troyes, the rest in Morocco and Portugal. The equipment manufacturer also guarantees materials of 100% French origin for judogis and judo kimonos.
Exceptions to the rule
Athletes’ first impressions of the finished products are generally good. “ The outfits are super beautifuljudges the great hope of table tennis Alexis Lebrun. To see them already, it does something. Wearing them at the Games will reinforce the pride of being there. »
If Le Coq Sportif, official partner of Paris 2024, will be able to exhibit his know-how, he has not won the entire market. The outfits for the Olympic opening ceremony on July 26 will be the work of Berluti, a brand of the luxury group LVMH. Furthermore, four federations (football, basketball, handball and athletics) preferred to maintain their contracts with their usual equipment supplier, subject to the payment of compensation of 400,000 euros into a common fund managed by the CNOSF. In other specific cases, very technical parts will also be supplied by competitors, but without the possibility for them to affix their logo.
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