CHINA / SOCIETY
Check out Olympic opening ceremony's ‘fashion feast’ – who won the best dressed award? Chinese netizens cast their votes
Published: Feb 05, 2022 05:39 PM
The athletes' parade at the opening ceremony of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on Friday night turned out to be a "fashion feast," as they try to win not only gold medals, but medals of "the best dressed" by showing their most technologically advanced and stylish outfits at the Bird's Nest stadium.

Many hashtags about the delegations' uniforms have quickly trended on Chinese social media, and a lot of them have earned different titles among Chinese netizens from the "catwalk show."

The Olympic delegation of the People's Republic of China parade into the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 4, 2022. (Xinhua)

The Olympic delegation of the People's Republic of China parade into the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 4, 2022. (Xinhua)


 
The Olympic delegation of the People's Republic of China parade into the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 4, 2022. (Xinhua)

The Olympic delegation of the People's Republic of China parade into the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 4, 2022. (Xinhua)


 
'The best team in the history of the Winter Olympics'


According to China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo, the hashtag of "The best team in the history of the Winter Olympics" was all about the Chinese delegation.

The Chinese delegation chose a set of fitted long cashmere coats with beige for the male team and the traditional red for the female team, with woollen hat of the same color, and some athletes also chose red caps. They all geared with white boots. The scarf shares the same color of the national flag, with the yellow colored Chinese characters "China" woven on the red scarf.  

"This is the first time in my mind that Chinese delegation debut with cashmere coats instead of loose tracksuit, but they look timelessly stylish," one Chinese spectator surnamed Liu who watched the ceremony told the Global Times on Friday.

"This is the real Chinese red, the red made me full of passion and pride. Beijing 2022 is the best Winter Olympics ever," one netizen wrote on Weibo.


Members of Team Finland.Photo:VCG

Members of Team Finland.Photo:VCG


 
The delegations with the 'best color match and design'


Perhaps the color of red means so much luck to Chinese, especially during the Chinese New Year. Therefore, the uniforms of the Canadian delegation this time won a high mark among netizens for their head-to-toe red outfits.

"This is my second favorite outfit except the Chinese uniform. The Canadian team's clothes are great both in design and aesthetic," one Chinese netizen wrote. 

Media reported that the outfits can be modified, such as the down jacket can be carried like a backpack if the temperature rises.

Many Chinese netziesns show surprise after knowing the uniforms are designed by Vancouver-based athleisure company Lululemon, as many joked online that they thought "Canadians only liked wearing Canada Goose."

Uniforms from Finland also won a strong praise on Chinese social media for their "gentle and advanced color matching," and also earned a nickname of "the same style of penguin." 

Some netizens commended that Finnish athletes look "cute" as "they look like little penguins in grey down jackets through the screen."

Alice Roche, a French fashion worker currently living in China, told the Global Times on Saturday that the Finnish uniforms is one of her favorite outfits as "the design and colors are futuristic and standing out."

Photos: Li Hao/GT, Xinhua

Photos: Li Hao/GT, Xinhua


 
The Olympic delegation of Great Britain parade into the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 4, 2022. (Xinhua)

The Olympic delegation of Great Britain parade into the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 4, 2022. (Xinhua)


 
The delegations with 'the most fearless to the cold'


American Samoa flag bearer Nathan Crumpton debuting with the tradition of lavalava - a Polynesian staple has successfully become one of the most shinning spotlights at the mega opening ceremony. 

Many Chinese netizens gave thumbs-up to his fearless approach to the cold while insisting on paying homage to the heritage culture. 

The peacoat of the delegation from the UK is another hashtag on Weibo. When most teams wore down jackets to defeat the freezing temperatures, the team of Great Britain is one among only a few that wore coats at the "catwalk show." 

The photos show that the British athletes all wore quilted navy-blue peacoats with the Chelsea boots. Inside of the coat is a deep roll-neck sweater with a deconstructed Union Jack flag on it.
 
"The whole suit is very British, but I also realized that they are really not afraid of cold," one Chinese netizen commended on Weibo. 

The Olympic delegation of France parade into the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 4, 2022. (Xinhua)

The Olympic delegation of France parade into the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 4, 2022. (Xinhua)


 
The most luxurious delegation


Chinese netizens gave the title of "the most luxurious delegation" to Italian and French delegations.

As the "hometown" of fashion, the teams from Italy and France wore the uniforms designed from the fashion powerhouse Emporio Armani and a century-old fashion sports brand Le Coq Sportif.

However, many netizens said they could not get the beauty of the design and some joked that "true fashion is not understandable."

The spectacular "couture show" has aroused audience's strong impulse of purchasing the same style. Share of American online retailer Amazon soared as much as 12 percent in early trade Friday, its biggest intraday gain in more than four years.