Special Report Going for gold


This year marked the first time that a corporatewear supplier was tasked with designing and manufacturing Team GB’s formal suit for an Olympic Games. More than 350 athletes will wear the suit designed by Lancashire-based Simon Jersey. P&P editor Melanie Attlesey reports.


A


thletes and members of the British Olympic Association only have praise for Simon Jersey and the suit the corporatewear supplier has designed for formal events.


The suit has taken two years to come to fruition. Both athletes and the BOA have been involved right through from conception to the final sizing sessions. Helen Harker, design manager, explains: “The most obvious thing for us from a design point of view was to include the colours red, white and blue. We also wanted the suit to be contemporary, but with a modern twist.


“The initial response we got from the athletes when we first questioned them was that they wanted to be suited, but for the suits to have little additional details that would give them the edge. One of the key things that athletes wanted included on the suit was a badge. The inclusion of this makes


the suit a prized possession for the wearer. It says Ive been to Rio and represented my country.”


Design features


Both the male and female suits are made from 100% Yorkshire wool in a royal blue birds eye weave. According to Helen the colour is very on trend at the moment, while the wool provides the suit with breathability and comfort. On the left breast pocket of both suits is the Team GB badge designed especially for Rio 2016, which has been embroidered on to add another level of quality to the outfits.


The men will wear a three piece suit, which is two-button, two-vent by design, which Helen says was simple enough to design, however the womens outfit provided a bit more of a challenge for the designers. “The female range provided a real debate – do we go for trousers, a skirt or a dress. In the end, because there is such a diverse size range among the female athletes, we decided to go for a cigarette trouser, which is cropped and very flattering,” says Helen. The mens suit comes with a pocket square and a tie. From a distance both appear to have a polka dot design, but on closer inspection the polka dot is actually a lions head. The male athletes are also kitted out with a set of cufflinks, white shirt, belt and brogue-style shoes. Women will wear a red wrap top in a jersey fabric, instead of a white shirt. They are also provided with a handbag and a choice of flat or heeled shoes.


Little finishing touches


But what about those little finishing touches that make the suit stand out? Well, the inside of the suit has gold piping around the edge, which Helen says is to inspire the athletes to gold. On the sleeves one of the buttons is a gold lions head and the inside of the jacket has been cleverly styled with good luck messages from 10 of Britains schoolchildren woven into the red jacquard material. Simon Jersey ran a competition earlier in the year for schoolchildren to win the chance to have their good luck message feature in the lining of the suit. A total of 900 children entered the competition and the lucky winners got to meet with some of Britains greatest athletes and receive a preview of the suit before the launch in May.


Diverse body shapes Helen Harker with the mood boards for the Team GB formal suit | 60 | July 2016


One the major problems the designers encountered when designing the suit was how they dress such a diverse range of body shapes. The suits range from a size 6 to a 22 for


www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk


350 athletes will receive the suit, which is Team GB’s largest ever away team


22,500 buttons are used in the suits


4,854m of fabric was


ordered for the suits


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