Colourful artwork decorates the skateboarding uniforms that Nike has designed for the sport's Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 summer games.
The sportswear company has created uniforms for three countries, the United States, France and Brazil. They will all be bringing teams to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to compete in the sport's first street and park competitions at the Olympic level.
Nike partnered with Dutch artist and ex-skateboarder Piet Parra to design artwork for each of the federation's uniforms. Each look is intended to be unique to the country's style and intended to pay homage to its sporting history.
The brand worked closely with athletes like Sean Malto, who is in the running to qualify for the US skateboarding team in Tokyo, to create attire for a sport that isn't typically associated with having a uniform.
"Skating has been such an individual thing, it's all personal preference and your style, the clothing matches the style of your skating," Malto told Dezeen. "So having a uniform is different, but it also is cool, that it now it is a bigger thing."
According to Nike, this year's games are on track to be the hottest temperature ever, so the aim was to create a uniform that would be lightweight and breathable.
"Nike has been working with us to try to figure out the best possible outfit to feel comfortable in to feel like we look good and if you look good, there's a side psychological way of performing as well," Malto added.
"We're pushing ourselves to the limit, it's a dangerous sport anyways, and then adding hot humid weather makes it a little more extreme."
The United States men's outfit features a basketball jersey top and khaki-coloured cargo pants, while women skaters will wear a button-down shirt paired with navy chinos.
A colourful pattern, designed by Parra, decorates the shirts and socks. A bald eagle, an emblem of the country, adorns the bottom left corner of the top.
Nike said it also focused design efforts on making pieces that are at the "forefront of sustainability" by using more environmentally conscious manufacturing processes and recycled materials.
All of the skateboarding jerseys will be made from 100 per cent recycled polyester comprising "water bottles and other things that would go to waste," according to Nike.
Brazil's uniforms are reminiscent of football, an important sport in the country's history. The tops take cues from the form of soccer jerseys and are paired with green leggings for the women and loose-fitting shorts for males.
Parra's artwork on the uniform uses colours found in the country's flag, yellow, green and blue.
For France's set, Nike has created a red jumpsuit for women and a shirt evocative of typical tennis wear for men. Both feature a rooster, a symbol of hope and faith in the country.
All of the skating attire will be paired with Bruin React sneakers, which feature a suede upper part and a react foam sole covered in a zonal herringbone pattern to provide traction.
Nike created the shoes knowing athletes like to feel the board through their shoes while they move.
"Obviously skaters like to feel their board, but there are some important pressure points in the arch of the foot where React will then perform," Nike said.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are set to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020. Regulatory board World Athletics just released new sporting guidelines ahead of the event, which means that Nike's controversial Vaporfly shoe are permitted for use.
Nike also designed a number of products for the last Olympic Games, held in Rio in 2016.
These include a collection of compactable clothes and shoes developed with fashion designer Kim Jones and the Nike Zoom Superfly Elite for track and field running events.
The post Nike designs first-ever Olympic skateboarding uniforms for Tokyo 2020 appeared first on Dezeen.
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