Christian Louboutin’s uniforms for the Cuban Olympic Team

On Saturday, Cuba’s Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel bid farewell to the country’s Olympic delegation — 120 athletes are heading to Rio de Janeiro, and with more than their typical flag-emblazoned uniforms. French luxury footwear designer Christian Louboutin and Henry Tai, a former professional handball player and founder of French online retail shop SportHenri.com, joined forces to design formal looks for the athletes to wear at the Closing Ceremony — an event that in many ways doubles as a global fashion runway. The pieces were designed and fitted in consultation with current and former Cuban Olympic athletes — one of several reasons why this Cuban-inspired collection stands apart from the many others that have popped up in the last year.

The fashion worn by athletes in the opening and closing ceremonies are points of great pride for many countries — and an opportunity to showcase domestic design talent — so it’s interesting that the Cuban government would authorize the French men’s proposal. (The French ambassador to Cuba also reportedlyhelped make this happen.) Any information about the team’s uniform design has not been heavily publicized in the past. Similarly, another communist country, China, enlisted a well-known designer for the first time to create its team’s ceremonial looks this year. 

Source: FASHIONISTA.COM