Update (August 9, 2021): Following the hype around Telfar's designs for the Liberian Olympic Team, the designer has now released a capsule collection featuring loungewear such as sweatsuits, T-shirts, tank tops, dresses, and more, as well as performance wear pieces including shorts and tops.
Arriving in a selection of colorways including baby blue, navy, red, and beige iterations, the pieces are available starting today with the first 800 customers getting a free gift with purchase. The collection retails between $60 and $270, and is currently available online at Telfar's website.
Original Story: The Opening Ceremony for the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games took place yesterday, welcoming athletes to Japan after a rocky year of COVID-19 restrictions and cancellations. A handful of sports have already kicked off, including football, rowing, archery and more, and athletes are settling into the Olympic Village to get ready to compete.
One team in particular, however, has stolen the show. Liberia's track-and-field team showed up to the opening ceremony wearing outfits designed by Liberian-American designer Telfar Clemens, who has also designed the uniform for the team's five competitors. Featuring a light blue base with "LIBERIA" in white block letters, as well as matching sleeves and socks, the uniform is simple yet features some of Telfar's signature design cues. The Opening Ceremony looks feature gown-inspired silhouettes taking on a sportswear design, all finished off with an updated version of Telfar's recognizable "T" logo on the chest.
The New York Times reported that Olympic sprinter Emmanuel Matadi was the one who made the collaboration happen after his girlfriend told him about Telfar's sought-after bags, and reached out to the designer as he knew he was Liberian. Matadi also described Telfar Clemens as “an elite athlete in his space, just like we are.”
Telfar took to Instagram to share a full look at the outfits and uniforms, with the caption "the world isn't everything." Watch Liberia compete in the 2021 Olympics in style, as the competition has officially kicked off.
