After two years of hard work, Stella McCartney finally unveiled her designs for the 2012 Olympics.
The animal-friendly eco-designer worked with Adidas to put together the kit for 900 British Olympic and Paralympic athletes that will be competing in 46 sports.
The designs however, are not without controversy. McCartney’s vision, based on the Union flag, is primarily blue and white with just accents of red. Many are upset that the color red, a big part of the flag, isn’t more prominently featured. According to Huffington Post, “the three elements of the flag — the red cross, the red X and the white X — are there to represent England, Scotland and Ireland, respectively.” We can see why the lack of red in the actual flag portions of the design could cause controversy.
McCartney said about her inspiration for the designs, “The first place to start on a project like this is to look at the Union flag. For me it’s one of the most beautiful flags in the world and it was important for me to stay true to that iconic design but also to modernise it and present it in a contemporary way. Ultimately, we wanted the athletes to feel like a team and be proud with the identity we created.”
Responding to critics who don’t think she did the flag justice, the designer said, “Thank you for your great points on the Team GB kit. My intention was to keep the language and strength of the Union Flag, but to use it in a more delicate way. If you look at the history of Team GB kits, it is the most prominent use of the flag and the color red since 1984. It’s not a conventional way of looking at the flag, but one still interprets it as the Union flag.”
Via ecorazzi
Images via Adidas
