The African Kits Set for the 2024 Paris Olympics
This year features exciting collaborations with Black-owned and relatively smaller brands like LABRUM, Actively Black and IGC Fashion.
The kickoff of the 2024 Olympics, taking place in the charmed city of Paris, is just around the corner. The event, hosted every four years, will feature competitors from across the world wearing their specially designed kits for their respective countries — a major and usually highly anticipated part of the global sports event.
For this year, African teams, from Sierra Leone to South Africa have already unveiled their Olympic kits. Sports brands such as Adidas, Nike, Mr Price Sport and others have partnered with various Olympic teams from the continent to create kits for the sports they qualify to participate in. And while those heavyweights are already a staple in the world of African Olympic kits, this year also features exciting collaborations with Black-owned and relatively smaller brands like LABRUM, Actively Black and IGC Fashion who are tapping into the excitement and bringing strong cultural nuances into the designs they’ve created for the African teams.
OkayAfrica presents an updated list of the Olympic kits from across the continent that have been released so far.
Morocco
The Moroccan contingent will be draped in eye-catching threads. The country’s Olympic committee collaborated with Spanish sportswear company Kelme for an expansive range of kit wear - from jerseys to tracksuits and shoes. In its other collaboration, popular Moroccan designer Ali Drissi put together a sleek ensemble for Team Morocco’s opening ceremony look, featuring a beige jacket adorned with a green star and chic red pants.
Egypt
Athletes and members of Team Egypt will be dressed in made-to-measure outfits helmed by the iconic Egyptian fashion house, Concrete. Designed by its Italian art director, Ettore Veronese, Concrete’s fits “feature light fancy fabrics that are perfect for the hot weather conditions in Paris and layered with our premium organic Egyptian cotton T-shirts.” The look is a symbol of Egyptian pride, with alternate white and black blazers that spot the black and red colors prominent on the north African country’s flag.
Côte d’Ivoire
Following the signing of an agreement with the National Olympic Committee of Côte d’Ivoire, Nuba Athletics, a U.S.-based sportswear company run by two African founders, will be the official apparel sponsor of Ivorian athletes. Their kit designs blend the determination for athletic excellence with the vibrant spirit of Côte d’Ivoire, with high performance materials for athletes, and even fans who are interested in copping limited edition replicas.
South Africa
In collaboration with South African clothing company, Mr Price, the South Africa Olympics team launched a sleek, pared-down look for the sporting event. Inspired by various South African elements, including the country’s flora and fauna, as well as famous landmarks, the design elements for the Olympics and Paralympics teams have a timeless, consistently fashionable style. There are white tracksuits with tiny splashes of yellow and green, in reference to the South African flag, and green tracksuits with tiny splotches of white and yellow. This design theme will also be featured in the opening ceremony.
Kenya
Team Kenya’s Olympic kits have been designed by both local and international brands. While its recently unveiled ceremonial kit has been met with criticism for its lackluster design and lazy incorporation of Kenya’s history, the competition kit designed in collaboration with Nike has fared slightly better. The competition kit features deep red and sometimes splotches of green and white jerseys and running shorts. The running kit, which also features sleeves with “Kenya” is particularly striking for its vibrancy and proud reference to Kenya’s flag colors.
Nigeria
The Nigerian contingent is dressed by Actively Black, a small athleisure brand based in Los Angeles. Featuring a combination of athleisure classics such as tracksuits and jersey shirts, the kit also has Nigerian-inspired garbs like senator suits and buba dresses, which will be seen during the opening ceremony. The Nigerian team will appear in the Actively Black designs for the opening and closing ceremonies, the Olympic Village and the podium, as well as the track and field competition. Overall, the designs are minimalist, yet striking. They put an interesting twist to Nigeria’s flag colors of green-white-green, incorporating these other colorways and design intricacies without distracting from the clean, measured look they seem to be going for.
Uganda
A particularly noteworthy part of Team Uganda’s Olympic kit is the Dance Sports uniform created by the Uganda-based brand, IGC Fashion. Known for its futuristic, slow and sustainable approach to garment making, IGC created joggers and hoodies from upcycled second-hand jogging pants and hoodies. Although the sale and purchase of second-hand clothing in Uganda is relied on by buyers and sellers alike, in 2023, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni banned the importation of second-hand clothing — a move designed to encourage local participation in fashion and avoid possible environmental issues. Brands like IGC fashion, however, have already taken a reusable approach to second-hand clothing, transforming discarded garments into artisanal and structurally interesting pieces. For their Olympic dance sports kit, the team’s patchwork joggers and sweatshirts are done in black, blue cream and red colors alluding to the vibrant spirit of the team.
Sierra Leone
In collaboration with Adidas and LABRUM — a London-based clothing brand owned by Sierra Leonean Foday Dumbuya, Team Sierra Leone will head to the 2024 Olympics in eclectic and visually stunning sports garbs. This year’s Olympics kit features many cultural details particular to Dumbuya’s African heritage. The deconstructed cowrie shells — a symbol of strength and prestige — are paneled against a deep blue shade with the Adidas logo sitting next to the Sierra Leonean official logo. This kit is easy on the eyes and incredibly stylish, transcending sports into territories of lifestyle wear. It features running kits, tracksuits, hoodies and football shorts. This collaboration is arguably one of the most impressive and thoughtfully designed kits set to grace the famed grounds of the Olympics this summer.
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