The 2010 Olympic podium had two Americans wearing medals and Burton’s plaid and denim Olympic uniforms. Shaun White, gold (center); Peetu Piiroinen, silver (left); Scotty Lago, bronze (right). Photo by Nick Hamilton, courtesy of TransWorld Snowboarding
Sport-specific style often gets thrown out the window when it comes to Olympic uniforms. Recall any past opening or closing ceremonies and it isn’t hard to conjure up images of Team USA strutting about in white pants and some variety of red or navy jackets and white hats. While this clean-cut, Ivy League style may look good during the parades when the whole team is amassed as a group, when you pull out individuals in each sport, it can look downright silly.
Luckily for the snowboarders on Team USA, Burton Snowboards has once again designed the snowboard team uniforms for the snowboarders participating in the Winter Olympics. The uniforms, which Burton recently debuted, have a classic American-heritage look that is borrowed from a patchwork quilt. “We’re really proud that the 2014 uniform builds on Burton’s legacy of creating fun, unconventional designs that stray from the formal, traditional look of most uniforms,” said Greg Dacyshyn, chief creative officer at Burton Snowboards, in a press release. “The vintage quilt and flag print of the jacket combined with the corduroy pants give the uniform an ‘heirloom hippy’ vibe that lines up with snowboarding’s laid-back culture while paying respect to America’s longstanding creative heritage. It will stand out in Sochi for sure.”
The 2014 Olympic uniforms build on Burton’s legacy of creating great snowboard-specific styles, but Burton wasn’t always on board with the idea of Team USA uniforms.
With the company’s release of a third, American-driven and snowboard-specific style uniform it’s easy to forget that company founder and chief executive Jake Burton once famously spoke out against the idea of Olympic snowboarders having team uniforms at all. In an article written by Philadelphia’s The Inquirer in 1998, before snowboarding’s debut in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, Burton said, “It sounds so odd to have a U.S. snowboarding team. Snowboarding isn’t about a team. It’s about an individual. It’s not a nationalistic event. The U.S. team has to wear team uniforms. That’s not snowboarding. The U.S. federation asked if my company would be interested in outfitting the team and, frankly, I said no. I wouldn’t want some athlete who normally doesn’t wear Burton being forced to wear Burton.”
But as snowboarding grew and times changed, Burton softened his stance on the issue. “Back in 2006 and again in 2010, Burton stepped up to create the Olympic uniforms because we felt it was imperative that a snowboard company help drive the design around what riders want,” said Jake Burton in the company press release on the new uniforms. “Just like for Torino and Vancouver, the 2014 uniform was designed around feedback from some of the best American snowboarders to make sure that the design, fit, and vibe represented our sport and our country in the best possible way. I can’t wait to see the riders on the podium wearing our uniforms.”
And, for those of use who remember watching J.J. Thomas, Danny Kass, and Ross Powers sweep the men’s halfpipe podium in Salt Lake City in 2002 wearing Nike uniforms and later standing on the medal stand in ridiculous Canadian-designed Roots apparel outfits, the decision by Burton and his team to stay involved in the Team USA’s uniform is greatly welcomed. Now you only have to feel bad for all of the snowboard Olympians from other countries who are stuck wearing poorly designed team gear.
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