Skateboarders got the chance to show off their sport for the first time as part of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, but those of us watching from home found that while we couldn’t keep our eyes off their amazing moves, their colorful uniforms are what created all the buzz online.
The International Olympic Committee approved the popular street sport five years ago as one of four new events for the 2020 Summer Olympics. Athletes in this sport are known for their speed, high-flying, gravity-defying tricks, their decked-out skateboards and, let’s face it, their style. So whoever designed the Olympic skaters’ uniforms had to get it right — and they did.
The Nike-designed attire earned a lot of positive attention from Olympic viewers who jumped onto social media to talk about the athletes’ fashion flair.
Twitter user Shaun McAree shared how much he loved the 1990s vibe he got from Team USA’s uniforms.
The US skateboarding team uniform is giving me big 1990s-package-holiday-in-Spain kids'-club vibes.
I like it. pic.twitter.com/lONzEl33DQ
— Shaun McAree (@theelusiveshaun) July 25, 2021
Fellow Twitter sports fan Sean Henry also noticed the ’90s vibe of the skateboarders’ uniforms and compared them to another sports legend, tennis star Andre Agassi.
Really love the 90s @AndreAgassi outfits at Skateboarding Tokyo @Olympics pic.twitter.com/qqZIjDAc3t
— Sean Henry (@theSVHenry) July 25, 2021
Corrine Murray was one of many fans who said she just had to get her hands on the Olympic skateboarding uniforms.
I just want all of the olympic skateboarding uniforms pic.twitter.com/y4E7VguQAl
— Corrine Murray (@corrinemurray) July 26, 2021
When designing the uniforms, Nike invited Dutch artist (and former skater) Piet Parra to collaborate on the project to get his creative touch and ability to use the Pantone color scheme Nike wanted to feature in the product line.
“When we talked to Piet about the designs, we asked him, ‘Take what’s happening in Tokyo out of the picture for a second; if you were to make a kit on your own, what would it be?’” Nike design lead Donavan Harris said in a press release.
From this collaboration, four different Nike SB x Parra Federation kits emerged, for Brazil, France, Japan and the U.S. The kits reflect landscape features from each country — host country Japan’s has Mount Fuji, for example — as well as Parra’s signature color palette of turquoise, magenta and pink.
A closer look at the uniform shirts also shows finer details, including a bird embellishment on the bottom-left corner that “symbolizes the spirit of each country,” according to the news release.
Nike released its SB X Parra Federation Kits to its specialty skate shops on July 17 and to its SNKRS app and website on July 20. They quickly sold out, but keep an eye out, because they may return due to their popularity.
However, if you simply have to have some of this Nike skateboard swag right now, Teen Vogue reported website StockX currently has a bunch of items in stock. But be prepared for some markups. We found the jerseys selling for at least $125. Nike charges only $100 for the same item.
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories.
