For the second time in a row, the Olympics are being held in a world fashion capital. Following on from Paris 2024, the next winter games will be held against the equally chic backdrop of Milan, raising the stakes for the uniforms each country produces for its athletes.
Today, Lululemon revealed what Team Canada will wear at Milano Cortina 2026, which kick off on Feb. 6 with the XXV Winter Olympic Games and continue on March 6 with the Paralympic Games.
For viewers around the world, seeing the various countries’ uniforms is a sports-adjacent fashion moment to debate and dissect. But for the athletes, these pieces are sacred. “Walking as a cohesive group in the opening ceremonies, in our team colours, we are all united to support each other,” Canadian ice dancer Piper Gilles told the Star. It is a proud and breathtaking moment, she said, walking alongside your teammates, all wearing the same uniform, “being one speck of a person on the screen, in the giant crowd.”
Each games has a roster of athlete ambassadors who appear in the campaign imagery and offer feedback to the design team throughout the project. This year, they include Gilles and her ice dance partner Paul Poirier, hockey superstar Sidney Crosby, bobsledder Cynthia Appiah, freestyle skier Cassie Sharpe, hockey player Emma Maltais, speed skater William Dandjinou, Para snowboarder Tyler Turner and Para Nordic skier Natalie Wilkie.
This is the third outing for Lululemon as official Team Canada outfitters; it will retain the contract through L.A. 2028. The brand took over the uniforms following the much maligned Hudson’s Bay x Levi’s graffitied denim looks for Tokyo 2020. Lululemon’s 2024 outfits for Paris had some detractors, too, with social media posts likening the printed pieces to “uncooked bacon.”
For 2026, the overall design is subtle and safe, a slimmer puff silhouette with slouchy trousers that nod to an on-trend, early-2000s retro feel. “Milan is a global fashion city. There is so much to take inspiration from,” Lululemon design director for outerwear and Olympic outfitting Catherine Lebrun told The Star ahead of the unveiling today.
The outfits are rendered in true red, of course, but also deep burgundy and gradient green-grey inspired by icebergs — a sophisticated choice that moves away from the default palette of the Canadian flag. “The darker red, dubbed Black Garnet, helps make the maple leaf pop,” said Lebrun.
No Team Canada design would be complete without a maple leaf insignia, and this version is made up of 13 lines. “That is the symbol for this collection; a symbol everyone can relate to,” she said.
The athletes will receive different outfits for the opening and closing ceremonies, podium and media appearances, and warm-up and lounge gear. A few choice pieces will be available for the public to buy as of Nov. 18, with more apparel and accessories becoming available in the lead up to the Games.
The team walks onto the international stage as a cohesive unit, behind the flag, moving together as one. But everyone wants to show their own personality, too. “It was very important for us, and according to the feedback from the athletes, that they could customize their looks,” said Lebron.
The podium jackets, executed in the brightest of the reds, feature a photographic map of Canada at the base with a transparent print palimpsest overtop. Each jacket is slightly different, a reflection of the push-pull between team and individual that defines Olympic athletics.
Another key piece is the transformable vest. “When we had the ambassador team playing around, they found six different ways to wear it,” said Lebron, pointing out that it’s photographed for the campaign as a skirt.
For the ambassadors, this is a chance to contribute to the team in a meaningful way. “Being included in the design process makes you feel a part of the family,” said Poirier.
Gilles said Olympic gear and swag is hotly traded at the athlete’s villages (the pair has competed in both Pyeongchang and Beijing). “Canadian gear is always highly desired,” she said. “I’m always guarding my kit. It is fashion forward, too, made for us to express ourselves, and our individual personalities. You can mix and match all the pieces.”
She said athletes can be at the venue for close to a month, which leaves a lot of time to play with their outfit pairings. “The experience of the Olympics is very intense bursts with a lot of waiting that happens in the middle,” Poirier added.
The Paralympic athletes wear the same kit, which Gilles said makes everyone feel like a united team, “proud and truly Canadian.”
Besides the convertible vest, her favourite item is the winter boots, which feature adaptive design elements to suit Paralympic athletes’ concerns, such as a lock and release tongue design. “They are made so you can put them on easily,” Gilles said. The lacing system was created to support wide feet, as well as prosthetics. In response to Paralympian feedback, there’s also increased use of Braille on the clothing tags.
Over the past months, there has been a lot of trying on the pieces, and back and forth on sizing. When the athletes arrive at the Olympic Village, a giant package of gear will be waiting for each of them, the culmination of years of hard work. “It is such an exciting day,” said Gilles, “to dig into your kit.”
