Australia’s uniforms go for gold by ditching the green

Stone chino shorts feature green and gold details that are revealed when the hem is rolled up, while a green and gold pleated ombre skirt – “the most Parisian element of the uniforms”, says Hopkinson – offers a more feminine alternative.

With its retro pleats and knee-length hemline, the skirt might be too bourgeois for Parisienne tastes – green and gold aren’t a feature of the current ombre trend in French fashion – but the athletes are happy.

“We were a little bit sceptical when it was hanging on the rack but now that it’s on, I like it,” says water polo player Tilly Kearns. “It’s quite preppy. It’s not often that you get to feel feminine as an athlete.”

Classic white Dunlop Volley sneakers ground the look.

For 16-year-old Jeff Dunne, who is making his Olympic debut in the new sport Breaking (also known as breakdancing), the uniform is a sartorial step up.

“We’re usually super casual in our sport,” he says.

“It’s baggy pants, fitted shirts and really shiny shoes. I would definitely wear the T-shirt and I quite like the gold around the belt, but this is too smart.”

The number of athletes and the range of body shapes and sizes is a perennial challenge for the Sportscraft team, who have designed Australia’s Olympic opening ceremony uniforms since Atlanta in 1996.

“Because of the scale of the manufacturing, we do manufacture the uniform offshore,” Hopkinson says.

The majority of uniform production is in China.

“We work with suppliers who have full transparency on their production that can fulfil the orders on time. We are measuring not just the athletes who are attending the Olympics, but the ones who might attend.”

For Dunne, who has made the cut, his uniform is already a prized possession.

“I have some blazers for weddings and formal events, but I’m worried I’ll ruin this,” he says.

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