MPHO RANTAO
LIBERIA’S Emmanuel Matadi stands tall atop a hill as he waves a customised Liberian flag with the Telfar logo in blue, donning the official kit for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Telfar founder and designer Telfar Clemens announced that Telfar had collaborated as the official designer for the Olympic team heading to Tokyo in July, designing all the kits for the athletes in their various codes.
The New York Times reported that the design on the unisex kits would feature a blue and white colourway, a star across the side of the chest and the Olympics logo on the uniform’s sleeves. Each design also features track shorts/pants and a one-shouldered tank.
In a slew of pictures released by Telfar, members of the Liberian Olympic team, Kouty Mawenh and Emmanuel Matadi, are pictured wearing parts of the collection to be worn by the rest of the team.
In one picture, Matadi is wearing a two-piece blue tracksuit with ‘Liberia’ written in white down the front, and in another he is wearing a long-sleeved blue and white top with star design on the front right side.
Teammate Mawenh wears the navy blue t-shirt with an emblazoned Telfar logo in the centre, and matching navy track pants.
“Watch the OPENING CEREMONY [July 23] of the 2021 OLYMPICS to see the FUTURE,” the post read. “Our Runway. Run way. THANK YOU @matadi and Kouty Mawenh — WE ALL- WE READY – WE WON – WE ALL READY WON. 🥇🥇 #REPATRIATION.” the brand wrote in its Instagram post.
Clemens told the Times that he agreed to designing the kits and being a sponsor almost right away, making the sponsorship Telfar’s largest global investment.
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The article adds that he and artistic director Babak Radboy had been wanting to work on athletic clothing for a bit.
“They might have been surprised by some of it,” Clemens said. “But I haven’t heard a no. Just excitement.”
The New York based designer also stated that the Olympic kit collection would debut in Tokyo, and that he will sell a limited collection of athletic gear on his website, with other “evergreen” workout wear dropping in September.
