Though the Olympic opening ceremony was last Friday, we still can’t get over the looks each Olympic nation showcased. Despite Paris’ rainy weather and breezy winds, hidden beneath the clear ponchos of different athletes were beautifully tailored cultural garments.
Each nation (except those in Tahiti) and the IOC Refugee Team waved to spectators as they sailed down the Seine River. Out of the 203 nations competing in this year’s Games, these four stood out to us for their eye-catching opening ceremony looks.
Colombia
The Colombians came prepared for Paris’ drizzles and less-than-ideal weather. Athletes smiled in beige trench coats with gold, blue and red waves representing their flag’s colors at the bottom. Complimenting this were traditional sombreros with black stripes.
Totto, a brand contracted to design Colombia’s international competition attire, designed their outfits for the opening ceremony. The jackets are available for purchase online along with garments from other countries like Bolivia, Chile and more.
Ghana
What’s so special about the Olympic opening ceremony is that it teaches audiences the names of different cultural garments. Ghana’s Olympic team, which includes eight athletes this year, looked particularly happy in their traditional fugu smocks. The women wore full fugus and the men accompanied theirs with black pants.
The fugus are not only vibrant works of art but hand-woven too. Talk about impeccable craftsmanship!
Suriname
This small country in South America’s northern tip may be tiny, but they came in mighty at the opening ceremony. Like Colombia, they also came prepared for the weather. The four-member team wore bright windbreakers matching the green, red and yellow colors of their flag.
Even though Suriname is geographically located in South America, its people aren’t Latin American, but rather, mostly Caribbean with African roots. Their country’s flag features white, red and green stripes with a yellow star in the middle. Red represents progress, white for freedom and justice, green for the fertility of the land and the star for unity and a golden future.
Mongolia
We can’t wrap up this list without mentioning Mongolia, everyone’s favorite opening ceremony Olympic fashion. Not only did they outshine everyone else, they did it in the rain! Many social media users had been hyping up the country’s attire in preparation for the opening ceremony, making their entrance even more exciting.
Fourteen athletes will compete from the country, all of whom wore traditional garments with intricate blue embroidery. The women even wore ceremonial earrings and flexed gorgeous handbags. Their outfits were designed by Michel Amazonka, a diverse luxury brand founded in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.
Aside from the carefully tailored embroidery, the Mongolian Olympic garments incorporated various symbols, most notably the Syombo. The Soyombo is an alphabetical character founded in the late 1600’s that is now central to Mongolia’s flag.
Obviously each nation rocked their own Olympic fashion, but we just had to pay homage to these special cultural designs. So far, only Mongolia has snagged a medal (silver in judo) out of these four countries, but we are cheering all of them on and will continue to follow the games closely!
You can stream the Olympics on Peacock or stay up-to-date on the 2024 Paris Olympics schedule by visiting https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/schedule
Which Olympic nation do you think has the best fashion? Let us know on social media or the comment section below!
What's Your Reaction?
