At Friday’s opening ceremony at the Tokyo Olympics, the Czech Olympians walked in clothing designed by designer Zuzana Osako. The collection was praised by both Czech flag bearers Petra Kvitová and Tomáš Satoranský but also by the U.S. Forbes magazine, which ranked it among the eight most remarkable Olympic fashion collections at the opening ceremony.
The traditional blue print technique, which was used on men’s vests and women’s jackets, was chosen to combine Czech and Japanese culture. The men’s part of the collection also consisted of white trousers and shirts as a complement to the women’s part of a white dress. These clothes were inspired by the clothes worn by the Czech team at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964, where gymnast Věra Čáslavská became famous. The whole outfit was then complemented by red shoes, fans, and bast bags.
Both flag bearers of the Czech team, tennis player Petra Kvitová and basketball player Tomáš Satoranský, praised the collection. “As we went there, I heard that we had one of the six most beautiful collections. In any event, we were different. When I saw the other countries, some came in a tracksuit, which didn’t seem so cool to me. Czechs are handy, we have ideas. I am glad that this was reflected in our collection as well,“ Kvitová said.
“I like it – I was surprised at how many things there are. We laughed at how much fabric they had to use on us. I will want to keep it a souvenir for a lifetime,“ said the second flag-bearer, basketball player Satoranský, about the Olympic collection.
Czech collection has also been noticed abroad. Even before the opening ceremony, Forbes magazine ranked it among the eight most remarkable Olympic collections.
“The Czech Team is offering a fascinating lesson in historic fashion diplomacy thanks to Zuzana Osako. With dresses for women and cool vests for men, this collection is not only a beautiful homage to the past but also as close to haute couture as sportswear can get,“ observed the Czech collection fashion journalist Stephen Rabimov. With a collection that represented the Czech Republic, he also praised seven others that represented the United States, Russia, Liberia, Kazakhstan, China, South Africa, and Japan.
“They went by before I could comment, but the Czech Republic has some pretty fantastic Opening Ceremony uniforms,“ wrote the American actress Patti Murin.
Designer Zuzana Osako tried to meet the requirements of athletes when creating the collection. They were most concerned with Tokyo’s warm weather and the comfort of the whole ensemble.
Title image: Members of Czech Republic arrive during the opening ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 23, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (Hannah McKay/Pool Photo via AP)
