Irish Olympian Style

The official uniform of the 2008 Irish Olympic Squad was recently unveiled by the Irish Olympic Comittee. It's designed by John Rocha in conjunction with Irish team sponsor Penneys, and "marries elements of his Chinese heritage with his desire to present a positive , uplifting image for his adopted home, Ireland."

The uniform combines silk from the Far East, which has been handpainted by an Irish craftswoman with celtic motifs and superfine cool wools and cotton. It all sounds good. There should be an image in your head right now of something elegant and classy, sleek and smooth. Well, here's a picture of the uniforms as modelled by the athletes Fionnula Britton (24) from Wicklow who will represent Ireland in the 3000m Steeplechase and Letterkenny cyclist Philip Deignan (25) who will compete in the Olympic road race. Both are first time Olympians.


In fairness, the men's suit looks very well.But what is up with the women's outfit? It has the amazing effect of making the female athlete look like a 50 year old woman dressed to go to mass. It's stunningly unfeminine and old-fashioned. JOhn Rocha would have done well to remember that most of the women wearing this uniform will be in the peak physical condition of their lives. Why not dress them in something sleeker, fitted and sharper.

It's a pity that a great Irish designer couldn't use this opportunity to promote a more modern image of Irish female fashion.