By Frank Pingue
TORONTO, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Team Canada unveiled an Olympic wardrobe that's part patriotic statement, part versatile apparel – featuring a giant maple leaf design that can transform from vest to scarf to pillow, ensuring comfort for athletes whether they are walking into the Milano-Cortina Games opening ceremony or catching a nap between events.
The eye-catching collection from Lululemon LULU.O, which was unveiled at the company's flagship store in downtown Toronto on Tuesday, draws inspiration from Canada's natural environment, featuring colours ranging from deep red to iceberg-inspired blue-greens that will make the team impossible to miss at the February 6-22 Winter Olympics in Italy.
The head-turner is a maroon quilted vest sporting a massive red maple leaf that covers the entire front of the extra-long garment that can be worn as a vest, scarf or packed up as a pillow.
"The extra large scale of this maple leaf feels like something when you look at it from up close you see more of the geographic shape of it," Lululemon design director Catherine Lebrun told Reuters after the kit was revealed at the company's flagship store in downtown Toronto.
"But from afar, and this is for the Opening Ceremony, there will be hundreds of them wearing this coming together at once and I really look forward to seeing how that's going to make Canada come to life in that moment."
Podium-bound Canadians will sport bright red jackets featuring topographic designs of Canadian geographic features. The closing ceremony brings a dramatic departure from traditional red-and-white with large hooded jackets in an unmissable green-blue iridescent hue inspired by harsh Canadian winter conditions.
The collection, two years in the making with athlete input throughout, emphasises thermoregulation and includes adaptive designs developed with feedback from Paralympians. This marks Lululemon's third Olympics as Team Canada's official outfitter, following Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024.
Hockey great Sidney Crosby, who scored the golden goal at the 2010 Vancouver Games and is returning to the Olympics with fellow NHL players for the first time since 2014, joined Lululemon's roster as a Team Canada ambassador.
"Sorry I can't be there in person, I just wanted to say that I am happy to be part of the Lululemon family," Crosby said in a recorded message, adding he was "excited and motivated for the opportunity to compete at the Olympics."
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in TorontoEditing by Christian Radnedge)
((frank.pingue@thomsonreuters.com; 647-480-7636))