The Olympic Games are the global catwalk of sports fashion

In the early 20th century, Olympic apparel was still simple, movement-focused sportswear. Gradually, the colors of flags and symbolic elements began to appear.

In the 1980s, color intensified and uniforms increasingly reflected broader cultural identities. Global sports giants such as Nike and Adidas began claiming the arenas and introducing more technical products to the market. Athletes and the Games themselves also became platforms for social messaging.

The 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games ultimately marked the beginning of the modern, strongly branded era of sports fashion. Sponsorship became an integral part of the Olympics.

In the 2000s, the world’s most renowned fashion houses began designing team uniforms. Collaborations such as Ralph Lauren for Team USA and Stella McCartney with Adidas for Team Great Britain elevated official uniforms into the realm of international fashion. Olympic dressing became a fusion of storytelling and the global rise of powerhouse brands.

At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the French luxury conglomerate LVMH served as the main partner. The world’s most valuable fashion brands were visibly embedded in the Games’ identity, underscoring French creativity and craftsmanship.

Milan, known as a fashion capital, reinforced the role of design. Giorgio Armani’s EA7 collection, responsible for outfitting Team Italy, celebrated the “Made in Italy” brand message. Once again, the Games demonstrated how technical sportswear, style, and national identity can form a cohesive whole.

Since the early 2000s, Halti has purposefully expanded its product range into increasingly demanding technical sports apparel. Partnerships with the Finnish Alpine Ski Team, the Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping national teams, and sponsorships of major international competitions naturally evolved into collaboration with the Finnish Olympic Committee. Halti served as the Official Outfitting Partner of Team Finland at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games and the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

From the outset, the objective of the Olympic partnership was clear. Sponsorship aimed to provide athletes with the best possible equipment, while also reaching the entire sports-loving nation. In collaboration with the Intersport retail chain, Olympic collections were widely available to consumers during the Games themselves. As spectators followed Finnish performances from the stands and living rooms alike, the same blue-and-white official uniforms were available in stores. The national sporting celebration was not limited to cheering — anyone could wear the heroes’ apparel and feel like a small part of the Olympic team.

The Vancouver 2010 collection was designed in a blue-white-black palette inspired by the Finnish flag, crowned by a recurring flowing print pattern across the pieces. The collection was created by Halti’s long-time Head Designer Martti Kellokumpu, himself a former elite athlete and overall World Cup winner in mogul skiing in the 1986–87 season.

For Halti, deeply rooted in winter sports expertise, this was a meaningful project. The products were designed to meet demanding winter conditions, and the visual identity stood out internationally.

Finland competed in Vancouver with a team of 95 athletes. The goal was 12 medals, but the final tally was five. The result was a disappointment — yet the team received recognition where medals are rarely awarded. Halti’s official uniforms gained international attention and ranked third in an unofficial opening ceremony uniform comparison. American talk show host Rachel Meadow named the Finnish outfits among the most stylish at the ceremony, with only Andorra and Bermuda ranking ahead of Kellokumpu’s designs. While sporting success fell short of expectations, Finnish design and its fresh aesthetic made a lasting impression.

For the London Summer Olympics, Halti created a lighter, more urban expression suited to Games held in a pulsing global metropolis. The collection, again designed by Kellokumpu and his team, featured a print inspired by the shapes and natural rhythm of the Archipelago Sea’s shoreline rocks. The blue-and-white ensemble was light, technical, and modern. It reinforced national identity by subtly bringing Finnish nature into the team’s visual expression.

Finland competed in London with a team of 56 athletes. The medal count was modest at three: silver in the women’s sailing Match Race team event (Silja Lehtinen, Silja Kanerva, Mikaela Wulff), and bronze medals in sailing and weightlifting.

Set in a unique and atmospherically vibrant urban environment, the Games offered international visibility for the uniforms. The nature-inspired collection, seamlessly fitting into an urban setting, exemplified Halti’s ability to combine Finnish identity, functionality, and contemporary design.

Although the Finnish Olympic Team’s official outfitter in Milan was the Finnish brand Luhta, Eddie Hallberg and the Finnish Alpine Ski Team were still seen competing in Halti colors on the slopes of Bormio. Halti is the official outfitter of the Finnish Alpine Team, and the use of highly technical performance apparel is permitted if the general outfitting partner does not produce such garments. In competition wear, discipline-specific expertise is respected.

The commercial framework of the Olympic Games is governed by the International Olympic Committee. Each nation’s Olympic Committee signs a four-year Olympic cycle outfitting agreement that defines the team’s official attire during the Games. Athletes appear in the common partner’s apparel during travel, official events, and medal ceremonies, even if their sport federations or national teams maintain long-term independent partnerships.

Brand and athlete visibility is regulated by Rule 40. Its purpose is to protect the exclusivity of the event’s official partners. In practice, during the Games Period — approximately three to four weeks — athletes’ personal sponsors may not reference the Olympic Games or leverage Olympic success in their marketing unless they are official event partners.

The regulation safeguards the funding and unified identity of the Olympic Games — but it also makes the Games Period an exceptionally quiet time for many of athletes’ own commercial partners.